NEWS

Val Brown, Community Relations and Fundraising Manager for Christian Aid Scotland, introduces this year’s Christian Aid Week appeal.

FOR the first time in a generation, global poverty is rising.

Conflict, the climate crisis and coronavirus are pushing more of our global neighbours into a struggle for survival.

As I write, the conflict in Ukraine continues to force thousands of people, mainly women and children, to flee for their lives into neighbouring countries like Poland and Hungary. The impact on global food insecurity, due to the importance of Ukraine as a major wheat exporter, is also likely to be huge, not only in Europe but in Africa too.

Just six months ago, during the UN climate conference in Glasgow, we were reminded that the climate crisis is the biggest emergency facing the world. COP26 failed to deliver as much as we had wanted, and nowhere near what the world needs, and so the need to re-group and call again for climate justice while the UK still holds the presidency is clear. However, the world’s attention has turned, quite rightly, to the biggest refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War. As our ACT Alliance partners and Church of Scotland partners work round the clock to deliver support to people fleeing the violence in Ukraine, we are conscious of the need to do again the two things that we’ve done for over 75 years: deal with the immediate need and advocate for long-term sustainable change.

This month, Christian Aid Week will run for seven days (May 15-21) and churches across Scotland will raise money for our global neighbours who are dealing with multiple crises.

The climate crisis isn’t going away, and in Zimbabwe intense droughts have left the land barren and women, many reliant on farming to earn a living, unable to grow enough food. They too stand on the frontline of a food crisis: one caused by the climate not war.

In rural Zimbabwe, seven out of ten women rely on farming to earn a living and provide for their families. Jessica Mwedzi has six children and because of her husband Phanuel’s ill health she takes full responsibility for providing for her family. She said: “Women are at the mercy of climate change and hunger. One year, we had no rain. The scorching sun burnt my crops just as they were about to bloom. It was so painful and disheartening. My children crave a good meal, but I can’t provide. We often go to bed on a n empty stomach. It pains me to send them to bed hungry.”

Jessica has now received training in horticulture and gardening. Christian Aid partners have also provided the community with drought resistant seeds, training in post-harvesting processes and storage, as well as opportunities to learn new vocational skills, like carpentry and dressmaking, so that people have other income streams available to them.

In addition to standing together to support people like Jessica in practical ways, this Christian Aid Week we also urge you to join us in calling for justice to be restored.

“Conflict, the climate crisis and coronavirus are pushing more of our global neighbours into a struggle for survival.

We believe that those most responsible for the climate crisis – including wealthy countries and fossil fuel companies – should pay for the loss and damage being caused in Zimbabwe and across the world. As the climate crisis worsens, extreme weather will continue to devastate communities and destroy lives. When Cyclone Idai swept through Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique in 2019 people lost homes, possessions and livelihoods. These damages are huge and irrecoverable. Christian Aid’s Loss and Damage Campaign urges politicians to:

• push for a new global fund to pay for the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis

• introduce a new ‘climate damages’ tax on fossil fuel companies. Consider signing our online campaign: caweek.org/action

Let’s also pray that politicians will have a radical change of heart, and that as a global community we will care for our common home and global neighbours living in extreme poverty – whether that be in Ukraine, Zimbabwe or Afghanistan.

Join us this Christian Aid Week to turn hunger into hope. 

To find out more please visit caweek.org or get in touch by email edinburgh@ christian-aid.org