43: MCCers Learn Lessons on Climate Change

Uganda, USA & Cambodia

A Climate Pollinator story by Sierra Ross Richer

An environmental science major in college, Isaac Alderfer from Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA, has long known that “Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time.” 

Living in Cambodia this year as a participant in the Serving and Learning Together (SALT) program of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has shown him that, “It affects humans a lot more than I maybe assumed.” 

For almost a century, young Anabaptists have traveled around the world to learn and serve through programs run by MCC and other Mennonite agencies.

For Isaac and another current MCC volunteer, Kevin Candia, the experience is providing a chance to learn more about the global issue of climate change, and will inform their future careers in the field. 

Kevin Candia, from Hoima City, Uganda, is a science teacher currently volunteering at Lancaster Mennonite School in Pennsylvania, USA, through MCC’s International Volunteer Exchange Program (IVEP).

Climate change is greatly affecting Uganda, Kevin said, especially the region’s weather patterns. But before moving to the United States, Kevin saw these changes as isolated to Uganda. 

“One thing I’ve realized,” she said, “is that climate change is not just a Ugandan issue, it’s a global issue.” 

After hearing about floods, wildfires and rising temperatures in the United States, Kevin realized: “Just like any other country, the United States might actually be experiencing a lot of climate change itself.” 

For Isaac, serving in Cambodia, one of the biggest lessons he’s learning is how much climate change affects people’s daily lives. 

“I spent a lot of time in college looking at the environmental side and the policy side,” he said. “It feels different to actually witness people that you know struggling as a result of climate change.”

Isaac is living in the Me Sang district of Cambodia where he volunteers with the Organization to Develop Our Villages (ODOV), a non-profit working to improve food and livelihood security and promote climate resilience. 

For the 85 percent of the people in the district who rely on the rice crop for their livelihoods, he said, increasing floods and droughts as well as changing seasonal patterns have very real impacts.

One of the lessons Isaac will take with him into his career is that effective climate change solutions need to benefit people as well as the climate. For example, he said, in Cambodia, mulching gardens is an effective solution because it not only helps the soil retain water, but also increases agricultural productivity, which benefits farmers. 

A lesson Kevin plans to share through her work as an educator is that, “We (humans) are the main cause of climate change.” And, “If we can create this problem, we have to find a solution to fix it.”