wfn.org | LWI UPDATE on final statement from regional climate change consultation

["LWFNews" <LWFNews@lutheranworld.org>]

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FEATURE: Don’t Cry Tears Lest They Ask for Water 
Lutheran Churches Urged to Protect Communities Threatened by
Climate Change 

KAJIADO, Kenya/GENEVA, 22 November 2009 (LWI) – Safiel Kulei's
simple statement goes to the heart of the plight of many of his
neighbors hit by consecutive years of drought in Kenya. 

"I had 88 cows. I sold 50. The rest died. I have nothing at the
moment. I have since moved to town," said Kulei, a farmer who is
an evangelist with the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church (KELC).

Kulei is a member of the Maasai community inhabiting southern
Kenya and neighboring northern Tanzania. The people's lives and
economy are centered on livestock especially cattle, which are
accumulated as a sign of wealth, traded or sold to settle debts,
and slaughtered selectively. Before the current rains began,
nearly three running years of drought decimated the community's
economic mainstay and livelihoods. 

"As opposed to previous years, when the clouds formed, no rains
fell," Kulei said when he welcomed participants in a Lutheran
World Federation (LWF) African region consultation on climate
change, food security and poverty. Delegates to the LWF
conference had visited the KELC Olirium mission area in the
southern district of Kajiado. "When children cried, they were
told to make sure there were no tears since people may ask,
'Where did you get the water?'" he said, emphasizing the scarcity
of water. 

The final statement from the consultation on climate change,
food security and poverty in Africa is posted on the LWF Web site
at:
http://www.lutheranworld.org/LWF_Documents/LWF-Climate_Change_Nairobi_Statement-EN.pdf

Read the full feature article at:

http://www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2440.EN.html 

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