Phong is a mother of 3 and a farmer. She lives in the north of Vietnam, one of the five countries most affected by climate change globally. Vietnam is extremely prone to flooding, and is very exposed to tropical cyclones and their associated hazards.
What does this mean for women like Phong? “Compared to last year, this year has witnessed less rain yet more heatwaves and very cold periods. The weather has changed drastically and affected our farming a lot”, says Phong.
The devastating impact of climate change
As a result of the changing climate, the corn plants on Phong’s farm have been growing weak and producing less corn. Some of the plants have died. This has had a devastating impact on her family – they could hardly make enough for their daily meals and had to receive government support to survive for part of the year. “Sometimes, there was nothing to eat,” adds Phong.
She is far from being the only woman impacted by those catastrophes, as 63% of working women are farmers in Vietnam.
She grows the future
To support women like Phong, CARE International has created an agroecology school in her community through the ‘She Grows the Future’ project. There, women farmers learn strategies to adapt to climate change impacts, such as diversifying the plants they grow. The techniques help to ensure they will have food and income all year long.
She can once again, despite climate change, take care of her family. They now have enough to eat and thanks to the technical training provided by the project, Phong grows enough vegetables to sell them and receive extra income for her family.
Phong’s message for world leaders at COP28
Ahead of COP28, the UN climate change conference which takes place in Dubai from 30 November – 12 December 2023, Phong has a clear message to world leaders:
“Each person among us is differently affected by climate change. World leaders should have programmes to support people to adapt to climate change safely and effectively.”
CARE is making sure the voices of women and girls like Phong ,who are the most affected by climate change, will be heard at COP28. Find out more here.
