Bonus. Hali Hewa: Gender and the Climate Crisis with Sofanit Mesfin

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to the fifth episode of the Hali Hewa Podcast.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Hali Hewa’ is a Swahili term for ‘climate ' and this podcast series is hosted and produced by Kenyan climate activist, Abigael Kima.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the lead up to the COP27 international climate negotiations, which are now just a month away, Abigael interviews African climate change experts and activists on the issues that matter most to them. Guests sign off each episode by sharing what they feel the COP27 conference must deliver on.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Our guest today is Sofanit Mesfin. Sofanit is a gender specialist working as the Regional Gender and Social Inclusion Coordinator at Ripple Effect, formerly known as ‘Send A Cow’. Ripple Effect works with smallholder farmers to equip them with knowledge and skills enabling them to improve their livelihoods and thrive. Farmers working alongside Ripple Effect learn more, grow more and sell more. They can feed their families nutritious food, and by having a surplus to sell can invest in their farms, send their children to school and build sustainable agri-businesses.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode, Sofanit takes us through her journey working with women farmers in different African countries to deliver training programs that help them adapt to a changing climate. She explains how and why women and children are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change, and what Ripple Effect is doing to ease the burden on women, children and their households. Sofanit also explains how other stakeholders can come on board to support this kind of work, ensuring that more and more communities get support to build resilience and secure a healthy future for themselves and their children.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sofanit signs off the show by sharing what she wants the upcoming COP27 climate conference in Egypt to deliver in