Global Voices Speaking Tour

Victor Odinda

I left Phnom Penh, Cambodia on February 11, 2024 to journey across the United States from California to Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington DC. I was the speaker for the Climate Action for Peace Global Voices tour, a collaboration between Mennonite Central Committee and Anabaptist Climate Collaborative, to empower diverse voices to speak on climate resilience in their communities. I spoke to various groups–Mennonite congregations, colleges and universities, and retirement communities, and staffers on Capitol Hill–about climate change in Cambodia.

I not only shed light on challenges faced by Cambodians because of the negative effects of climate change, I highlighted how MCC collaborates with our partners to adapt or mitigate these challenges. These include changes in weather patterns, such as how longer rainy seasons with floods and longer droughts with record high temperatures affect farm yield, illegal logging in Prey Lang Forest, and overfishing in the Mekong River.

Along with presentations on environmental protection, food security and livelihoods as sustainable solutions to climate change in Cambodia, I talked about how MCC climate projects incorporate peace building. This is due to the conflicts that arise among different parties. Gender involvement, religious and cultural considerations, and collaboration with various stakeholders also form part of the bigger picture.

We highlighted clean energy solutions through solar power and biogas production by Score Against Poverty (SCORE), an MCC partner in Zimbabwe through the MCC documentary “Women Will Renew” found at mcc.org/women-will-renew. Unfortunately SCORE’s leader, Caroline Pugeni, a trailblazer in climate response in Africa, was unable to join us in person because of last-minute visa issues.

A learning from my interactions with people in America is that climate change is not just a “save the earth” issue. It affects our wealth gap, politics, quest for social justice, education, socio-cultural and religious ideological standpoints. Most communities where I spoke are responding to climate change but feel like their contributions are insignificant because of the magnitude of emissions from the global north. I encouraged them by letting them know that they are part of a larger global response and if everyone puts their efforts together then the magnitude of the response may be just enough to save our planet.

I also learned that the global north is also experiencing climate change and there is need for adaptation efforts as well. The negative effects of climate change are not just a preserve of the global south. Dependence on dwindling ground water, deforestation for commercial timber andchanging weather conditions came out as some of the biggest challenges in the US together with flash floods and forest fires, according to the communities I interacted with. It was also encouraging to see young people involved in climate response through campus environmental sustainability clubs, often supported with the campus climate ambassadors of Anabaptist Climate Collaborative.

A special thanks to Micah Buckwalter from ACC, who coordinated the day-to-day aspects of the tour together with being my travel buddy, and Galen Fitzkee, MCC Legislative Associate in DC for coordinating the administrative aspects of the trip. I would also like to give a big thank you to both the MCC and ACC teams for all that they did to put the tour together and make the tour a success. It was a wholesome eye-opening experience!

Micah Buckwalter

I’ve been involved with the Anabaptist Climate Collaborative for several years now, starting as the Campus Climate Ambassador in my second year at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), participating in the 2021 Climate Ride across the United States, and working as the Climate Advocacy intern in the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) office in Washington, DC.

One theme that ran through each of these roles was the importance of working in community - connecting with other passionate students at EMU, finding strength in collective agony on long rides or steep climbs, and meeting others in DC who continue to push for strong federal climate policy. This theme stood out to me again as I helped to coordinate the 2024 Global Voices Tour.

I met Victor Odinda, who works for MCC Cambodia as a Climate Solutions Partner Advisor, in Los Angeles, California in mid-February. For the next three weeks, we traveled across the United States, engaging with more than 650 people in retirement communities, congregations, and on college campuses.

At each event, Victor shared how communities in Cambodia are already feeling the worst effects of climate change. But he also shared how MCC is partnering with farmers to adapt to climate change. They also work with indigenous communities to protect the Prey Lang Forest and the Mekong River.

This tour was not only an opportunity to amplify stories from the Global South, where those who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are feeling the worst effects. It was also a helpful reminder that when we work to address climate change, we are never alone but are working in community with others in the United States and even with folks across the world in Cambodia. This work is best done in community, so let’s keep that in mind as we take bold action in addressing the climate crisis from our own corner of this earth.