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FAWCO UN/NGO Reps Meet Nobel Prize Winner by Pam Perraud
A remarkable woman became famous for her very simple crusade to plant trees. Wangari Maathai was the featured speaker at a luncheon of the World Affairs Council in Houston April 17, 2009. Pam Perraud, NGO Director, and Louise Greeley-Copley, NGO Representative were on hand to meet her and to hear her story. Her work planting trees started when she heard the local women complain about the problems of fetching clean water, of finding firewood, and of poor soil for crops. As a biologist, she realized that the constant clearing of trees for firewood and for crops was counter-productive and made the soil open to erosion. She began by educating local women about the ecological damage that was being done and she encouraged women to re-plant trees to rebuild their own environment. She wanted to empower women who previous were regarded as second-class citizens. As her movement grew, she began to challenge the powerful landowners and farmers who had a vested interest in clearing the land. These powerful people were supported by the government. Her simple environmental acts soon challenged the status quo. She and her supporters were regularly threatened, beaten, and jailed for their actions. Her remarkable story and the story of the Greenbelt Movement was shown in a PBS documentary called “Taking Root” by Lisa Meton and Alan Dater. Pam Perraud was asked by the local Houston PBS affiliate to be on a panel at a special showing of the documentary about Wangari Maathai at Rice University on April 21, 2009.
In this section you will find the latest articles from FAWCO’s communications; the FAWCO FORUM and FAWCO CONNECTIONS, regarding malaria and FAWCO’s efforts in malaria prevention, as well as timely articles about malaria prevention issues. FAWCO is the second NGO listed with information on our organization, our NetWorks initiative and our continued commitment to malaria prevention with specific mention of our partnership with BioVision and our support of the projects in Nyabondo and Malindi, Kenya using an integrated approach to malaria prevention.
 Pictured here are Arline Coward FAWCO Foundation President, Stephan Gisi Dr. Peter Leuthy of BioVision Switzerland , Paula Daeppen UN Representative & FAWCO's NetWork Chair, and Sunny Eades FAWCO VP, presenting a check of over $50,000 to BioVision Switzerland during the XXXVIII Biennial FAWCO Conference in Lyon, France
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