Acts 10.44-48, Psalm 98, John 15.9-17
The Sixth Sunday of Easter 9th May 2021 - Christian Aid Week
Keasden
The climate crisis is having a significant impact on communities in Kenya. The main problem is the lack of access to a reliable source of water to help them withstand the unpredictable weather made worse through the climate crisis.
The weather has become more extreme. Drought has become more frequent and intense, resulting in millions of people being short of food as they are unable to grow crops. In parts of Kenya in 2020, drought was followed by relentless rainfall and flooding, which damaged crops that had struggled to grow.
With no access to reliable water sources or a way to capture rainfall, many communities are struggling to survive. This is Rose’s story.
Rose is caught in a cycle of climate chaos. From severe drought to flooding, extreme weather robs her of what she needs to survive: a reliable source of water. Without water, every day is a struggle. Without water, Rose is thirsty and hungry. This is her climate crisis.
‘When I was a young girl, there was plenty of food,’ Rose says.
Now, the rains are totally unreliable. The climate crisis has galvanised extreme weather and Rose’s community are feeling the brunt of it. For months at a time, Rose lives with drought.
‘I often feel hungry,’ Rose says. ‘Because of climate change, I worry a lot about food. I pray to God that the rainfall will become normal like it used to be.’
In recent years, the drought has been so bad that it’s caused a hunger crisis. Crops wither and die. Rivers run dry. People struggle to survive.
Rose strives to provide for her grandchildren who live with her. She does all she can to give them happy childhoods, but the climate crisis is driving her to the brink.
In times of drought, Rose sets out on a long and dangerous journey every morning to collect water for her family. She walks on an empty stomach.
The coronavirus pandemic has only increased the urgent need for families to access a reliable source of water for handwashing.
In Kitui county, eastern Kenya, 8 out of 10 people depend on water to grow crops, for food and to earn a living. Without a reliable water source, staple crops like maize and beans are damaged and destroyed.
The lack of water forces people to walk further and further to find a dependable source. Cows, sheep and goats are becoming weak without access to water, and can’t produce milk or be sold. People are struggling to cope. Lives are at risk.
‘We have to walk long distances. We are suffering,’ Rose said.
While she walks, her stomach gives her stabbing pains. She feels weary under the hot sun. But if she gives up, her grandchildren will suffer hunger and thirst.
With a dam full of water, Rose would be free from her long, painful journeys. She’d have time to grow fresh vegetables for her family to eat. And she could see her grandchildren grow up and live life in all its fullness.
The theme of water runs through Rose’s story, and so many other unheard stories from Kenya – both a lack of water and a destructive abundance of it. Drought and flood are part of the climate chaos and the associated erratic weather patterns being experienced by communities in Kenya. These communities depend on a reliable water supply for their livestock and livelihood, as outlined in the stories on the previous pages.
In our passage from Acts today we hear Peter saying, ’Can anyone withhold the water for baptising these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?’ Can anyone deny the right to make visible the work of the Holy Spirit? Augustine described sacrament as ‘an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace’, and so in baptism water makes visible the work of the Holy Spirit.
For those of us who experience a plentiful supply of rain, it may be harder to appreciate the true blessing of water. Rain as a blessing is particularly understood by communities who experience drought and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns due to climate chaos. How then ‘can anyone’ - particularly those of us who are baptised, in the generous Spirit of God - ‘withhold the water’ needed for thirsty animals, crops and people across the world?
This Christian Aid Week, we can be part of the answer to Peter’s question. Through our generosity, we can help ensure the much-needed water is not withheld from Rose’s community. Through our support of Christian Aid in their actions for justice, we can help ensure that the systems that perpetuate climate injustice are changed and a reliable supply of water can be made available to all who need it.
Based on material provided by Christian Aid
020 7620 4444
Christian Aid, 35-41 Lower Marsh, London SE1 7RL
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