In the regions where Woord en Daad operates, the effects of climate change on education are already clearly visible, says Evert van Grol, education expert at Woord en Daad. “Think of damaged school buildings due to floods or storms, unusable school material, children and teachers unable to reach school because roads are impassable, or declining academic performance due to extreme heat. We also see an increase in diseases among children.”
Difficult Choices
The consequences go even deeper, Van Grol explains. “Extreme weather events can cause households to lose part of their income. As a result, parents may be forced to take their children out of school to work. This increases the risk of child exploitation. Governments also face tough decisions. If they invest in repairing schools, there is less money left to invest in the quality of education. In extreme cases, climate change can even force people to migrate from an area, which has major consequences for school attendance.”
A Source of Hope
Although the challenges of climate change for education are significant, Van Grol also sees opportunities. “Children are growing up in the shadow of climate change. At the same time, they are also a vital source of hope for the future. Education plays a central role in finding solutions.” Woord en Daad contributes to this by working through its partner organizations to build a climate-resilient generation. Van Grol: “By integrating creation care and climate resilience into education, we help train young people to protect their environment, adapt to the effects of climate change, and play a future role as leaders for a more just and sustainable future.”
Change
Van Grol cites the schools of AMG in Uganda and Dedras in Benin as examples. “They see children as agents of change in the face of climate change. They raise students’ awareness of what is happening in their environment and link that to what they can do about it. In Uganda, there are children’s clubs at school. Children gain knowledge while engaging in practical activities. On school grounds, they learn skills related to agriculture, creating green spaces, irrigation, and waste management. They take this knowledge home, and their parents also participate in the program.”
Stewardship
Education thus becomes a means of bringing about change. Precisely because schools are central in villages and parents are involved, they are essential in combating the effects of climate change, Van Grol believes. “The desire to care well for creation underpins this. Our partner organizations are deeply committed to this. Stewardship is linked to a green and clean living environment.”
Creation care
This approach based on good stewardship has been developed by Woord en Daad and its partner organizations into a Creation Care and Climate Resilience Wheel. Van Grol: “It includes elements such as developing a curriculum with integrated lessons on creation care and climate resilience, encouraging and helping students to contribute to change in their own environment, setting up schools as model locations for sustainable initiatives (such as waste management and nurseries), promoting the construction of climate-resilient schools, spreading ‘green’ skills in surrounding communities, and connecting schools with other climate resilience initiatives.”
Act of Resistance
At the schools of partner organization AMG in Guatemala, creation care is also part of the curriculum. “Education is an act of resistance. It is the declaration: ‘We will not surrender to fear,’” wrote Wenry Orellana, director of AMG in Guatemala, in an article in the Nederlands Dagblad. Van Grol agrees: “We believe that schools are fertile ground for change; and students are a source of hope for the future.”
Want to read more about Woord en Daad’s vision on creation care and climate resilience in education? Read our Vision Paper: Climate Education and Creation Care.