These included groups as varied as the National Nurses Union, Nairobi Business Women, East African Women's League, the Home Economics Association of East Africa, the Mother's Union, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Kenya Girl Guides, and the Kenyan Association of University Women.
[2] In 1976, Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathi joined the organization.
In 1977, she proposed the idea of planting trees to address deforestation in rural areas of Kenya.
The tree-planting program was highly successful, and eventually Maathi created a separate organization, the Green Belt Movement, to expand her environmental efforts to other countries.
[3] In 1979, Maathi ran for president of NCWK, but lost by three votes.