This is the start of Christian Aid week, which focusses this year on Climate Justice, in Kenya and beyond. We are reminded that while we are all seeing the effects of climate change (increased flooding, changes in temperature etc.) it is the poorest and most vulnerable in our world who are suffering most. You can read the stories of Rose and Florence, farming their own land in Kenya, utterly dependent on the rains. But these rains have become unreliable, with the weather cycling from drought to floods. Support using simple technology such as earth dams that store rain water can transform their lives right now. But their longer-term security requires urgent action to protect our climate; a change in policy and behaviour amongst those of us living in countries with the largest carbon footprint.
Today we are not called to give up our lives for Rose and Florence. But maybe we are called to give up a car journey, a flight, a piece of steak. Or to give a little of our financial resources to build an earth dam for women like them. Or even to get involved in the build up to the UN climate change conference (COP26) happening in Glasgow this November. Put more simply, we are called to be friends. Friends to Rose and Florence, our global neighbours, who we have not seen, and yet whose lives we impact; consciously or not.
Susannah Woodd
