25 April 2023
Celebrating King Charles' Coronation
Climate change is a cause close to World Vision's heart, as well as the King's
When is the King's Coronation?
King Charles III's Coronation takes place on Saturday 6 May 2023 at Westminster Abbey in London but many more people up and down the country will be celebrating. There will be processions, concerts and other events. The King's Coronation will be followed by a bank holiday on Monday 8 May 2023.
King Charles III's charity work
King Charles has always been interested in climate change, the environment and other vital issues. Last year, the then Prince Charles visited a refugee centre in Romania to chat with workers helping Ukrainian refugees. Later in the year, King Charles met World Vision's CEO, Mark Sheard, along with other charities heads, at Buckingham Palace to discuss humanitarian crises around the world.
As a Christian charity, World Vision is also passionate about tackling climate change. We’re helping support the most vulnerable children in the world’s hardest places – and many of those are being impacted by climate change or forced from home through extreme weather disasters, hunger or war. Becoming refugees, forced from home, these children are facing a nightmare.
Climate change is threatening children's lives
Climate change is the greatest threat facing children and young people. One billion children are at “extremely high risk” of the impacts of climate change.
The changing climate is increasing the intensity and frequency of disasters like droughts and floods, and people and communities who are poorer are less likely to be able to prepare for such events. This means people are affected more severely, poverty deepens, and the cycle continues.
Increasingly frequent climate shocks impact crop production, destroying families’ livelihoods and reducing food availability. Children are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Instead of getting an education or living in a safe home, children are facing the global hunger crisis, which then increases the risks of child sexual exploitation and child marriage.
READ MORE: How does climate change affect child poverty?
Children like Kuel
The rains came so suddenly in South Sudan that eight-year-old Kuel had to wade chest-deep in water to get to safety. “I had never experienced a flood and by the time it came I was really scared. I don’t know how to swim,” he explains.
Kuel is among millions of children whose lives are being devastated by climate change.
Rising temperatures, extreme weather, and subsequent disasters are wreaking havoc across the world. Last year, floods in South Sudan left more than 600,000 children without homes, schools, food, or medical support. The UN estimates that around two-thirds of the country is experiencing flooding.
The floods took everything
Kuel's mother, Areech, is raising her family, including Kuel, his older brothers and a new baby, all on her own.
"My home collapsed because of the floods. The water came early in the morning; all the surrounding houses were flooded and I had to take my children. I was scared,” says Areech, Kuel’s mother.
The flood took everything they owned and brought with it the added threat of infection and diseases like Malaria. As Kuel explains, “The mosquitos were biting us every night.”
Displaced by the flood waters, they fled with nowhere to go. After staying in an abandoned school, they moved in with a neighbour. It’s far from ideal but they have no other choice.
Their home and small farm, which they rely on for food, are still submerged in water. They have no idea when, or even if, they’ll ever be able to return.
“When I’m hungry I feel as if I’m sick. I don’t know when this water will go away… Life will not return to normal.”
We’re protecting children facing climate change
Thanks to World Vision supporters, we’re distributing food and cash so they can eat, as well as provide healthcare and treatment for conditions such as malaria and acute malnutrition. World Vision is empowering the most vulnerable families and communities to become more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Our response to climate-related events included the provision of water, food, medical care, and farming techniques such as Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR).
As a keen gardener and dedicated environmentalist, our newly crowned King will be particularly thrilled to learn about FMNR, which involves regrowing trees from the living roots of stumps. Combined with other land restoration techniques, it is far more effective than planting trees. It has changed how thousands of farmers manage their land, helping them cultivate buried root systems and restore productivity. It is an astonishing solution to the climate crisis, reducing carbon dioxide levels and increasing resilience to extreme weather events.
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