People like Faith can move mountains with your help – Sally Foster-Fulton

Christian Aid is tackling the effects of climate change in countris across the world, says Sally Foster-Fulton

Faith Muvili is now able to collect water for her crops thanks to a nearby dam (Picture: Adam Finch)

This year will see Glasgow host the annual UN climate change summit. This is an extraordinary opportunity for Scotland to welcome the world and play a central role in leaving a legacy of Climate Justice.

Across the world, millions of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people are feeling the worst impacts of climate change, and experts predict more floods, drought and extreme weather patterns to come. For those living in poverty, this means more hunger, conflict and insecurity, and a more uncertain future for us all.

In countries like Nicaragua, coffee farmers are seeing a reduction in their yields, in Bangladesh families are witnessing their livelihoods and homes disappear and in Haiti stronger hurricanes are causing devastation. In each of these countries, and others round the world, Christian Aid is helping to provide practical solutions for communities and individuals to adapt to the worst of the climate crisis.

Sally Foster-Fulton, Head of Christian Aid Scotland

One of these people is Faith Muvili. Faith lives in Makueni county in southern Kenya. Due to increasingly unpredictable weather her fields were dirt and dust, and nothing could grow because water was so scarce.

People who have had least to do with the causes are right now facing the most devastating impacts and are experiencing the worst effects of the climate crisis.

Faith said: ‘The weather has changed because when I was young, there was a lot of rain and food was plenty. Today the rains are very poor. There was also a lot of livestock and today there is very few.’

For Faith, thanks to a nearby dam, she is now able to collect water for her crops. The sand dam was built by the community with the support of Christian Aid’s long-standing partner Anglican Development Services – Eastern (ADSE). ADSE works alongside communities to help them adapt to drought and poor rains.

ADSE helps communities build earth and sand dams, and rock catchments, so they can harvest water near their homes. While the rains in Kenya are erratic and unreliable due to drought, dams are simple and cost-effective natural storage solutions which catch the rain when it does fall. They offer communities a much better chance of harvesting.

Having a regular source of water through a dam helps communities maintain a more stable income. Dams can also save people around ten hours a day that they would otherwise spend collecting water during drought.

In times of drought, the dam ensures that Faith’s community can remain resilient. ‘The sand dam has made me and my family happy because when it was not there, I was not able to plant anything. Now we can plant vegetables and water our trees.’

‘I hope that by the time my children grow I will have done a lot of things. I’ll do my best to educate my children and my children will be what they want to be when they grow up.’

As the climate remains uncertain and unpredictable, droughts will continue to be a threat to Faith and her family.

But for now, she at least has the tools to help her adapt. With water from the dam, her fields stay plentiful and green and her family has hope for the future.

To support people like Faith, we can respond in several different ways. One example is that we can, this Easter and Lent, donate to Christian Aid’s Appeal to help provide practical support for families like Faith so they can adapt in the face of climate change. We can also respond by campaigning to address the problem at its root. This year, Christian Aid is calling on the UK Government to deliver a New Deal for Climate Justice. Specifically, we want the UK Government to transfer its fair share of finance and technology to poor and climate-vulnerable countries, to stop fuelling fossil fuel expansion and support clean, renewable energy instead and to curb the over-consumption that is driving climate breakdown.

These would – in the year that the world meets in Glasgow to determine our climate’s future – be important steps towards a New Deal for Climate Justice. You can find out more at christianaid.org.uk/campaigns/climate-change/climate-justice-petition

To donate to the Christian Aid Easter and Lent Appeal go to: christianaid.org.uk/appeals/key-appeals/lent-easter-appeal

Sally Foster-Fulton, Head of Christian Aid Scotland