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Stop dreaming, start acting

December 6, 2011 in Ecological Justice

By Njideka Onwunyi

I have for a very long time thought about what would be the best title for my first article once i create my own blog. Besides this I still wonder what would be the name of my blog. My care about a lot of issues like environmental sustainability, poverty, religion, sports, water, sanitation, green chemistry, sustainable development, creative writing, poetry, renewable energy, travel, music, and art are issues that interest and fascinate me. It is such personal concerns that urge me to voice my opinion when opportunity for same arises.

A strong belief and desire for change can be used to define me as an advocate longing for a better world. I long for a just and fair world to all, liberated from materialistic ideologies, one that respects nature and creation. A home for all that tackles with sincerity issues of climate change and environmental degradation. An ideal world for me would also have total harmony devoid of poverty. I wonder if such a world is possible! In my opinion yes, such a world is possible to realize and I invite you to join the movement of people from diverse ethnic and religious background both youthful and dreamers to such a world.

Njideka Omwunyi ready for task ahead as an advocate on climate change issues.

The fact that I know am not alone even strengthens more. Such thoughts would never have filled my mind without participating at the jointly organized eco-justice training by World Council of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation. It has been a privilege to be part of the civil societies’ activities currently taking place at the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Conference of Parties (COP17) meeting in Durban, South Africa.

The sessions conducted daily at the eco-justice training have enlightened me in a great way. I have learnt about the Christian perspective to eco justice, which has set a solid foundation for my future advocacy plans. I now have deeper understanding of my responsibility as a Christian to become more active in my context. Sometimes back the world struggled to believe that man would one day walk on the moon. There may be many who will read my article and rubbish it as mere ‘dreams of impossibility’; What have experienced In Durban keeps my hopes alive and am determined to amplify my voice as an advocate for eco-justice.

Ms. Njideka Onwunyi, 26 is a participant at the Eco-Justice training and she is from the Roman Catholic Church in Logos, Nigeria

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Women, HIV and AIDS and Climate change

December 4, 2011 in Ecological Justice

By Maggie Mwape

Women and girls are said to bear the brunt of climate change. This is partly because; in many countries they make up the majority of the agricultural workforce hardest hit in the environmental crisis. They often do not have control of their lives and access to as many opportunities to generate income as men. Women are more likely to be poor and to see their poverty increase. This poverty consequently renders women and girls more vulnerable to HIV, as they do not have the ability to negotiate for safe sex. Then there is issue for transactional sex which usually comprises unequal power dynamics usually between the girls and the men paying for sex. Numerous examples of extreme climate change can be found, from melting glaciers in Bolivia, to the destruction of crops by typhoons in the Philippines, and from drought to floods in east, southern Africa and Vietnam. In each scenario, women are shown struggling to keep their livelihoods and families intact, and, in some cases, fighting for their lives.

Empowering women and girls, especially through investments in health and education, helps boost economic development and reduce poverty, thus having a beneficial impact on coping with climate change. Educated girls are more likely to protect themselves against HIV and to have smaller and healthier families as adults. In general, access to reproductive health services such as family planning means lower birth rates and this has a clear bearing on lessening the potential impact of environmental crises and making sustainable development more likely.

The linkage between HIV and the environment needs to be explored further. Recent scholar has documented transactional or “survival” sex as an alternative livelihood strategy. Indeed, in some cultural settings, sex‐based trade is viewed as normative and not simply about survival, but rather about achieving a particular standard of living, commensurate with the perceived commodities of modernity (Leclerc‐Madlala 2004).

Our particular concern is the potential for the “environmental scarcity‐risky sex linkage” to operate in areas of high HIV prevalence. Risky sexual behaviour in most regions is clearly linked to increased susceptibility to HIV/AIDS. Therefore, risky sexual behaviours may pose serious risk at the individual level while also further fuelling the pandemic.

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Y4EJ youth participate in Global Day of action demonstration

December 4, 2011 in Ecological Justice

By Raquel Helene Kleber

An estimated 20.000 people gathered at this year’s Global Day of Action in Durban, South Africa, during COP17. The demonstration held in Durban has for years became a tradition at the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year’s event caught the attention of various global media.

Eco-Justice youths sending loud message to world climate polluters during the Global Day of Action in Durban, South Africa

The non-violent march involved international and national community, religious and environmental organizations, civil society, academia, youth, and counted with the active participation of the youth from the Eco-Justice training, jointly organized by the World Council of Churches Water Network and the Lutheran World Federation.

The youth spotted a banner saying ‘Polluters Pay’ which included names of the main polluters countries. As a participant, we joined the call urging international leaders to take concrete actions towards addressing climate change, in addition to an urgent legally binding and just agreement.

For many youth, the demonstration’s at the Global Day of Action was their first time, and they were very impressed by the non-violent approach of the march, which they termed as a celebration to achieve an Eco-Just economy and society. One of the participants even expressed that “it was not only a call to tell polluting countries to pay, but also to recognize ourselves as individual polluters”.

Climate change is one of the signs of the groaning of creation, which is suffering the consequences of human mistreat and is also a sign of injustice, when the most vulnerable and the minorities face the greatest consequences. In order to tackle this problem, a change in the economic system is demanding, but also a change in our actions from the position of dominators to stewards of God’s creation.

In the process of creating a more Eco-Just world, the youth has a significant role to play, since we are the ones who have hope and energy that can be used to change these situations, added to our abilities of networking and technology for change. We are the ones who will be affected by today’s decision, and yet “we have a unique opportunity to become a solution in this world”, said Isaiah Kipyegon.

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Be part of Eco-Justice change you long to see

December 2, 2011 in Ecological Justice

By Antony Fredrick Ogolla

I believe that young people are the major stakeholders when it comes to environmental concerns because the future belongs to us and our children. With this in mind then the question is: What kind of environment do we want our children to live in? If we are in a position to answer this then I think we are home and dry.

Over the years our environment has been handled carelessly by human activities and the climate change impact facing us today is a reflection of our past actions. What we face today in the world could have been avoided if all followed God’s intention at the creation for man to care for creation as opposed to exploiting the earth.

As a young person change starts with me and I believe that it is time for us to take individual responsibility and make a difference in the world. There no other options of in-action, we have to ACT failure of which the future generations will hold us accountable and squarely responsible for the environmental harm already caused.

An African saying among the Kikuyu community in Kenya may act as a lesson for all. It says-“Take care of the environment because you did not inherit it from your parents but you borrowed it from your children”.

Even as we gather as young people in Durban I would emphasize all the global youths worldwide to embrace a culture of sustainable justice for all.

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