Climate change is a women's issue, according to World Vision president and Blessed Tomorrow faith leader Richard Stearns. While it remains an issue that affects us all, Stearns explains in a recent blog for the Huffington Post, that when you consider how greatly affected woman are by water, climate change inevitably becomes a women's issue.
Climate change has caused severe droughts around the world, and as Stearns points out, women are bearing the brunt of this unfortunate consequence. For example, Zambian women must retrieve fresh water daily to sustain their families, a trip that may take four hours, and place them in harm's way.
The most telling aspect of Sterns blog is the immediate effect that climate change is having on the world today, making our swift action more necessary than ever.
The Most Important Women's Issue You've Never Heard of
By Richard Stearns for Huffington Post: Global Motherhood
Imagine having an extra four hours to your day. That's four more hours to unwind, read to your kids, go for a jog, try out a new recipe or earn extra money for your family. And imagine you were given that extra time every day for the rest of your life.
That's what happened to Eniah, a 42-year-old woman in Hamaundu, Zambia, who used to spend four hours each day carrying water to keep her family alive. A mother of seven, her oldest daughter has already dropped out of school. Spending so much time fetching water, she didn't have time to keep up with schoolwork. Her 13-year-old daughter Everlyn was on the verge of dropping out too. "My legs would ache," she recalls. "We never used to bathe at home."
