Despina Kayichian, MD, Founder
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Our StoryDespina Kayichian, MD, the founder of The Hummingbird Project, was inspired by the life of Professor Wangari Maathai and the story she told about a hummingbird in a burning forest.
Prof Wangari Maathai was the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004. She lived in Kenya fighting for women’s rights, climate change, environmental justice, the protection of forests, and democracy. She tells the story of the hummingbird in Dirt! The movie. |
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“We are constantly being bombarded by problems that we face and sometimes we can get completely overwhelmed.“
The story of the hummingbird (Fēngniǎo) is about this huge forest being consumed by a fire. All the animals in the forest come out and they are transfixed as they watch the forest burning and they feel very overwhelmed, very powerless, except this little hummingbird.
"It says, 'I'm going to do something about the fire!' So it flies to the nearest stream and takes a drop of water. It puts it on the fire, and goes up and down, up and down, up and down, as fast as it can." |
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"But as they continue to discourage it, the hummingbird turns to them without wasting any time and it tells them, ‘I am doing the best I can."
"In the meantime all the other animals, much bigger animals like the elephant with a big trunk that could bring much more water, they are standing there helpless."
"And they are saying to the hummingbird, 'What do you think you can do? You are too little. This fire is too big. Your wings are too little and your beak is so small that you can only bring a small drop of water at a time." |
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"And that to me is what all of us should do."
"We should always feel like a hummingbird. I may feel insignificant, but I certainly don’t want to be like the animals watching as the planet goes down the drain. I will be a hummingbird, I will do the best I can.”
"And that to me is what all of us should do. We should always feel like a hummingbird." -Professor Wangari Maathai- |