Women are usually the first respondents when climate related disasters like floods, fires and droughts strike but a number of research studies show are the most ill equipped to handle these issues. This is why its is vital to engage them in campaigns to raise awareness about actions everyone should adopt to reduce the damage we inadvertedly cause to the climate everyday by our actions. These actions can begin right in their kitchens when women reduce the amount of food they waste and encouraging family members reduce their energy consumption and our individual carbon footprints. Leicester based charity Joy in Health on Sunday April 10 2022 launched a new National Lottery Community Fund climate change reduction project aimed at women from ethnic minority communities at the Christian Worship Centre (CWC) in Leicester. CWC is a non-denomination group that meets frequently to worship and share views on different topical issues
How BAME Women Can Join the fight
Speaking during the launch event, main presenter kum Emmanuel a passionate Climate change activist reminded the women that since they make you 51 percent of the world population, their role in protecting the climate was critical. He said it was sad to note like most other campaign issues across the UK, many people from ethnic minority backgrounds were not involved and even when they did get involved, fewer women ever took part. Mr Kum said this had to change especially with the damage climate change is doing to the way we live, travel, eat and our health. Hear him; “…for a couple of years now, there has been a significant impact on the change of the environment on our health in every part of the world, even here in the UK. There were floods in some parts of the UK recently. What happened was peoples’ homes were flooded and some of them did not have insurance. This caused a lot of depression to some of those affected”. The floods he reminded participants, was caused by rising sea levels, a direct result ofclimate change.
He continued his presentation by reminding the women there was no longer any excuse for people from ethnic minority backgrounds to avoid climate preventive actions because its effects hits people from minority backgrounds the hardest and they are often the least equipped to fight back. Climate he added, was an existential problem whether people lived in Africa, Asia, Europe or the Americas. That was why it was a global fight in which everyone had to be involved irrespective of race, age or level of development of their communities.
An animated discussion then followed with the women asking questions on how they could be involved and the damage climate change could cause to their livelihoods, family dynamics and their future plans
Godfrey Oluikpe, President of Christian Worship Centre thanked Joy in Health for creating a timely awareness campaign around climate change and hoped many more similar cam paigns reach other communities.
According to Joy In Health Project Manager Joy Aguguo, the project main outcome is to directly involve women from ethnic minority background in climate prevention actions. Also, the charity wanted to create female climate activists who will inform friends, relatives and the community how small actions like reusing and not wasting extra food by simply blending extra fruits into smoothies or freezing leftover food instead of throwing it and causing climate change when the wasted food ends up in a landmine. “ We wanted women from ethnic minority backgrounds to know that taking public transportation for short journeys, and even buying fewer cloths and shoes helps protect the environment as fewer resources are used to produces those dresses and shoes”
This was the first of many outreach climate change prevention awareness events Joy In Health will be holding with ethnic minority community groups across Leicester