One woman’s story of fighting climate change – and how you can join her

Virginia’s story

“I see the climate is changing a lot,” says Virginia Ñuñonca, a farmer and community leader in the Peruvian highlands. “Before it wasn’t like this. Sometimes these days, with the cold and the frost, the grass gets really dry.”

Virginia has experienced first-hand the single biggest threat to the fight against hunger: climate change. It’s already making people hungry. Around the world wild weather and unpredictable seasons are causing chaos for farmers. Food prices are going up. Food quality is going down. Soon climate change will affect what all of us eat.

So far, so bad. But here’s the good news: together, we can turn this situation around.

Join us today to stop climate change making people hungry.

People are already taking action on climate change. In Peru, Oxfam helped Virginia to adapt to unpredictable weather by building a reservoir, and training her to use irrigation systems. “The reservoir and the training I received were motivation for me; I felt encouraged”, she says. After the reservoir was built, she dug additional irrigation canals, buying and laying the pipes herself.

Today, Virginia’s lush green fields sustain a herd of dairy cows.  “I can sell their milk and cheese...and make yogurt to feed my children. The milk is sacred. It’s a blessing”, she says.

But she’s not stopping there. “I don’t want to be the only one with this reservoir,” she says. “I want all of my neighbors to get milk, to live, and to make progress.”

What you can do

From adapting to changing weather in South America to cooking smart in Europe, millions of people around the world are already taking action to deal with climate change.

But governments and businesses need to do their bit, too. Join us as we push them to:

• Cut harmful emissions
• Help farmers like Virginia deal with changing weather
• Make sure there’s enough good food for all of us.

Add your voice today to stop climate change making people hungry

In 2014 we’ll be taking on the world’s biggest companies, starting with the food and drink industry. And we’ll be fighting for real commitments from governments at a special UN summit on climate change.

We’ll be in touch to show you how you can help pile on the pressure – and take action in your own life – so that everybody always has enough to eat, today and in the future.

Together, we can win the fight against hunger.
Georgi York is Oxfam Great Britain Global Campaigner.

This blog originally appeared at blogs.oxfam.org
All photos: Percy Ramírez/Oxfam.