Jackie Macadam meets Helen Hughes, a retired Church of Scotland deaconess and passionate supporter of Christian Aid.

“I FEEL so passionately about climate justice: it’s a travesty that our global neighbours in some of world’s poorest countries have to suffer most from the impact of global warming, when they have done the least to cause it.

“An important part of the work of Christian Aid is working with partners to find ways of tackling climate change, for example, by adapting the crops grown and planting drought resistant seeds and working with the communities to find solutions, like supplying long term weather forecasts to help with crop planning when weather patterns are so unpredictable “The climate crisis is a global crisis which threatens the lives and livelihoods of all of us, but especially the world’s most vulnerable communities . We have a unique opportunity as Glasgow hosts the crucial UN climate summit CoP26 this November, we need to put pressure on world leaders, demanding climate justice.”

Helen Hughes is a retired deaconess and a passionate advocate for Christian Aid, particularly their climate justice work.

“As long as I can remember, I have had an appreciation of the natural world,” she said. “I was brought up to respect and care for the earth and saw caring for creation as part of Christian stewardship. When visiting the local primary school in Lansdowne parish and leading assemblies with the infants, I tried to link to the themes the children were focussing on and often these covered environmental issues, which helped to foster in the children a love for the earth and to encourage them to want to care for it.

“In preparing for these assemblies I enjoyed taking take time to reflect on and learn more about the diversity of life; how we are bound together with plants and other living creatures in one great eco system, and that while we are just one of these species, we have a disproportionate effect on the others, both plant and animal.

“I was always encouraged and inspired by how responsive the children were and how interested in and full of wonder they were about the natural world. Parents would mention how the children were putting what they learned into action in their own homes, making sure light switches were switched off when leaving a room, not wasting water.