In our time we are hearing ever more voices emphasising climate justice among those in
pursuit of a climate friendly world. How we, as individuals, workers, and societies, can slow
and reverse the issue is a mainstay in conversation among those actively campaigning on
green issues, but has only recently begun to expand beyond this social sphere.

To understand how climate justice can be applied, it is important that we recognise how
climate injustice developed, how it can be prevented in the future, and what is already
being done to safeguard the communities and societies most at risk in our climate crisis.

Industrialisation is a goal to which many countries aspire, as a means of developing their
economy, reducing poverty, and as a badge of success for a nation to show to the world. A
challenge can be found in enabling and encouraging societies to become successful, and to
be comfortable places for their citizens to live, while at the same time preventing climate
and general inequalities, both within their borders and in the wider world.

As a long-developed country, the UK can play a major part in sustainable development,
because much of the demand for output from developing countries originates here, and in
other similar economies.

The UK’s desire for these goods, comes in two parts, one being industrial demand, and the
other being consumer desires. As individuals, we can therefore make a difference in two
main ways, the first being to encourage government and industry to improve their practices,
source high quality raw materials and basic assemblages, and to ensure they trace the
practices of third parties with whom they have close business relationships.

The second thing we can do is to consider not just the obvious environmental damages that
we may do, but how new changes and progress we may make in our lives could also impact
climate justice. For example, a seemingly positive change such as driving a battery powered
car, may create new global challenges, such as improper lithium, cobalt, and other metal
mining, or high power usage among battery and vehicle manufacturers.

Watch this space for more posts on how what we do can make a difference in the world of
climate justice, and how individual and societal change can have as few negative effects as
possible. Preventing climate change is important, but we must not forget climate justice
along the way.

Written by Anthony Rowett.

Picture this: it’s late summer and the harvest needs to be gathered. Among your small patch
of farmland are a few proud and bulbous ears of wheat, but most of them are stunted and
without any product to gather. You kick the dry, almost sandy soil as you prowl through the
site of your labour, and curse the cloudless sky above. The price of wheat is at a record high,
but you can’t make the most of it. You don’t know why the weather is so poor for your
usually successful crop, but bad conditions, in drought or flood, seem to be evermore likely
each year.

At the same time, your neighbours, more small-scale farmers, seem to be better off. They
may not have much wheat to show for their efforts, but they are loading plenty of root
vegetables into bags and taking them away. It wasn’t the husband in this family whom you
saw managing these, but his wife, and as a result of her work, the family can sustain
themselves and improve their fortunes. Out of curiosity, you visit their home and they
explain how they’ve managed to achieve such success in a challenging year.

This hypothetical scene would happen is Western Kenya, an area of the world likely to suffer
disproportionately from the effects of climate change. As is becoming better understood,
those who rely on agriculture are likely to struggle with the increasing threat of drought and
floods as we head deeper into the climate crisis, but even within a community facing these
challenges, some will struggle more than others. In Kenya, for example, women are faced
with greater difficulties than men, and when climate change is combined with other societal
issues, the problems are exacerbated.

Global Footsteps are pursuing climate justice in their efforts to support those facing an
uncertain future, and are working with a local women’s group in Seme, Kisumu County, near
the shore of Lake Victoria in Kenya. The Aniga Women’s Initiative is a society of women local
to the area, who are taking a strong lead in their efforts to change the trends of farming,
and help women to see a strong and resilient future. They and Global Footsteps have a close
relationship, and we’re delighted to help in their push to increase the resilience of farming
and farmers in their community. The essential, vitally impactful main aim of the project is to
spread the popularity of sweet potatoes, a climate resistant crop, among farmers in Seme.
Achieving this is Global Footsteps’ shared aim, and is where we are applying ourselves, both
in effort and funding.

The problems of the less well off are our problems, too. As one member of the Aniga
Women said: “as the disadvantaged population, we are in it with no choice and with limited
support for adaptation.”

Written by Anthony Rowett.

In January, our associate, Benter Ndeda, the CEO of the Aniga Women successfully delivered sanitary pads to local schools and reported back with some curious findings.

Last year, for a “period poverty” project, Global Footsteps contacted Ethical Giving, a charitable trust that contributes to good causes in Gloucestershire.

We received £2,000 to fund the project.

The purchase of large quantities of sanitary pads is not available in the rural county of Kisumu, which led Benter on a return trip to the capital Nairobi. Weather and road conditions made the trip challenging and delayed, and time engaged with the school and the girls resulted in the project taking three days.

In the report written by Benter Ndeda, dated the 28 January 2022, a total of 2,050 pieces of sanitary pads were purchased at KSh102 each. The number of pupils reached was 670, in 10 schools.

Benter highlighted in the report the challenges faced in the delivery, emphasising that a high number of girls were considered vulnerable. With exams in March, the number of pads provided per girl made sure that  every one of them had enough for at least three months.

The visits to the schools also exposed vulnerability in boys, who reportedly complained of feeling neglected. The number of dropouts seems significant among them, as boys often only have tattered shorts and feel self-aware and ashamed when they don’t have underpants.

Health concerns were also raised as schools have little affordability to invest in suitable disposal of sanitary pads. Most schools in the region use pit latrines as toilets, which quickly fill upon disposals. In the report, it was recommended that schools use an incinerator to help dispose of the pads and reduce any unnecessary risk of diarrheal diseases in pupils, a current risk affecting pupils’ enrolment as well as health.

As part of the programme, the Aniga Women set a mentorship engagement to connect with and teach young girls about sanitary pads and mental challenges.

In Kenya, there are significant cultural taboos around menstruation, which pose an additional challenge to access and afford sanitary towels. Many girls in Kenya tend to miss an average of four days of school every month, an equivalent of a month per year, due to embarrassment and lack of guidance. These indices leave girls with a high likelihood of falling behind and/or dropping out.

The dropout rate among female students in primary and secondary schools is a tremendous existing problem in Kenya.

In addition to educational drawbacks, girls’ health is also endangered by the absence of support and guidance on menstruation. Problems such as unhygienic ways to dry menstrual materials or dispose of them appropriately are commonplace. Girls also need to worry about leakage and lack of resources (e.g. soap, clean water).

Consequently, many girls grow in isolation and with low self-esteem, afraid of prejudices and negative attitudes.

The report highly encouraged the involvement of boys during mentorship and discussion of health and personal concerns to help bridge some of these existing problems.

The delivery of sanitary pads and the mentorship engagement had the objective of helping ensure girls between the ages of 10 and 17 years old:

• have their school attendance improved,
• have information promoted on menstrual hygiene management and risk awareness of HIV & AIDS,
• are provided with documented lessons and options,
• are able and incentivised to increase their self-esteem.

Read more on the topic here:

FSG-Menstrual-Health-Landscape_Kenya.pdf (menstrualhygieneday.org)

UNFPA Kenya | Period Poverty: The Weak Link in Ending Gender Based Violence: Dr Olajide is UNFPA Representative. Ms Mbugua is a Gender Equality Champion, author and Media Personality with the Inua Dada Foundation

Physical, Social, and Political Inequities Constraining Girls’ Menstrual Management at Schools in Informal Settlements of Nairobi, Kenya (nih.gov)

Reports on Empower & Educate the Girls of Rural Kisumu – GlobalGiving

What’s been happening lately with our partners, the Aniga Women? They live in a very rural area, in Kisumu county in Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria, and many of them are farmers. We were excited to hear that they want to set up a farming co-operative to grow crops resistant to a changing climate, thereby increasing the resilience of the community.

This sounded like a great idea, but we didn’t know how it might work in practice. So, to start with, we have been working with Professor Kenny Lynch and interns from the University of Gloucestershire, who did some research into the local situation and what crops might be suitable. Following the women’s suggestion of cassava and orange fleshed sweet potatoes, the research indicated that sweet potatoes would be most suitable.

Global Footsteps secured funding to pay local experts in Kenya to work with the women on a feasibility study and project proposal to confirm whether and how the project would work, and of course, how much it would cost.

That work has now been completed, and the reports we have had from the local consultant have been excellent, confirming that sweet potatoes would be the best crop to concentrate on. The feasibility study found that:

• Orange fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) are a suitable crop for a changing climate, being resistant to drought and heat.
• Farmyard manure is the only fertiliser needed, and only the vines will need irrigation.
• There is demand for sweet potatoes, both as food for the farming community and for sale locally.
• Sweet potatoes can be processed into flour or purée, therefore bringing “value added” benefits and increasing the shelf-life and flexibility of the crop.
• Equipment for farming and processing is relatively simple and cheap.
• Health benefits for local families are considerable, notably to address vitamin A deficiency.

The project proposal details how the project will work. It aims to:

• Train smallholder farmers who have agreed to use part of their land to grow sweet potatoes, in partnership with the Kenyan government local agricultural office.
• Set up community nutrition groups to support families to grow and understand the health benefits of sweet potatoes and how they can be used.
• Establish vine multiplication sites to produce the planting materials for the smallholders and families in the community nutrition groups.
• Establish demonstration sites to showcase best farming practice.
• Set up marketing groups to work co-operatively to sell and process surplus crops.

In addition to growing crops resilient to a changing climate, thereby producing food for their own use and for sale locally, the project will increase the income of participating families, as well as reducing infant mortality and malnutrition. This small scale but co-operative farming is kind to the environment. A total of 960 families will benefit directly over three years. The project particularly targets households led by women.

In round figures, the total cost of the project over 3 years is £73,000, with £53,000 to be raised in the UK by the charity, and £20,000 contributed by the Aniga Women towards staff and admin. The funds we raise will be for staff and training costs, and equipment. After three years it should be self-sufficient and sustainable.

This is an important project, helping one of those vulnerable communities that has contributed the least to climate breakdown but is on the frontline of its effects. It contributes to 12 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals. So the next step is to raise the money! We are hoping to use a variety of methods – applying for grants, crowd funding, corporate sponsorship, fundraising events. Let us know if you have any ideas.

Written by Alison Crane