3 ways you can fight climate change for girls

July 30, 2024
By Sirena Cordova
July 30, 2024
~4 min read

Monday, July 22, 2024 was a record-breaking day for Earth. Do you know what for? 

It was literally the hottest day we’ve ever had. At least, it was the hottest day we’ve been able to measure since data collection began in 1940. That doesn’t mean everywhere experienced high temperatures, but the average came out to about 62.87°F. This is .11 degrees higher than the last record-breaking number — which was set the day prior. 

For regions around the world that are living through scorching temperatures and decreasing rainfall, this tracks with what they already know. Climate change is heating up the planet and making it harder for millions of people to survive. 

Droughts are especially devastating because we rely on water for everything. Drinking, cooking, sanitation and plumbing are just a few daily uses for water. As sources diminish, people must walk further to collect what remains. And by people, we mean girls — like 10-year-old Kathiana from Haiti. 

Semi-wide shot of a girl in Haiti standing with her arms crossed as she looks into the camera with a serious facial expression.
Kathiana used to go straight to the nearby river after school to collect water for her family. © Plan International Haiti

Luckily, the river she goes to isn’t too far away from home, but fetching water still takes an hour out of her day. That hour could be spent studying or playing with friends. 

“I usually collect water the day before and store it for the next day, so I don’t have to do it before school, although sometimes it keeps me from doing my homework,” she says. 

That’s why Kathiana was excited when Plan International came to her village to install a water pump. The new pump means a safer and shorter journey, reducing the risk of violence that girls like her experience when travelling long distances to fetch water. And with dreams of being a doctor someday, Kathiana now has more time for her studies.  

Girl in Haiti holds the handle of a water pump as water fills a white plastic jug.
Kathiana collects water from the pump in her village instead of walking to the nearby river. © Plan International Haiti

So far, Plan has installed and repaired 16 manual water pumps throughout the north-east region of Haiti where Kathiana lives and is working toward solar pumps.  

Unfortunately, there are girls and young women who walk for hours and come back home with less water each time. They’re missing entire school days, trekking along unsafe pathways and risking their health by drinking from potentially contaminated sources. 

Their stories are a stark reminder of the urgent need to address the water crisis fueled by climate change. While global efforts are necessary, we can all make a difference. 

As you think of the individual steps you can take to mitigate the negative effects of climate change for the future, here’s something that will make a huge impact right now: helping people on the frontlines of water scarcity. Here are three ways you can act: 

1. Give a Water Gift of Hope

Gifts of Hope are real gifts for children and their families around the world, and giving a gift from the water section of our catalog means you’ll provide resources to people who don’t have clean water at home.  

Girl in Nepal wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue pants holds the handle of a water pump as she drinks from her other hand.
Clean water at school is also vital for girls so they can manage their periods safely. Tilak Gaha Magar, © Plan International Nepal

Gifts like Form a Water Committee fund community groups that develop and implement clean water strategies while gifting a Smart Pump Device for a Community will help those committees keep track of clean water supplies.  

You can also join other climate-conscious and compassionate individuals and gift a Share of Clean Water for 1 School to help build a clean water system for children in Cambodia. 

2. Give to Plan

A simple donation to Plan goes a long way to support projects that provide clean water to families around the world (like the one that installed a water pump for Kathiana’s community).  

For example, in Zambia, El Niño exacerbated a drought that is negatively impacting agriculture, food and water supplies, and energy production for half of the country. 

[Read more: What is El Niño, and why are we worried about it? 

In addition to providing emergency relief, Plan is also implementing long-term solutions. This includes drilling wells to ensure families have water for home use and to irrigate their land so they can restart their farms.  

Ten young children in Zambia watch diggers drill a well in their community.
Plan implements projects to dig water wells in regions like Zambia where climate change has depleted many sources of this life essential. © Plan International Zambia

Projects like this need your support, especially as more and more places around the world experience drought and water shortages.  

3. Sponsor a child

Sponsoring a child through Plan is a direct way to combat the water crises for children, particularly in regions impacted by climate change. Your monthly gift empowers not only your sponsored child but also their entire community, providing access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene resources essential for combating the effects of climate change.  

Blue and white concrete bathroom stalls with the designations "female" and "male" painted on their respective entryways.
In Liberia, Plan build two new public bathroom stalls and clean water towers in a sponsorship community for children and their families. © Plan International Liberia

By investing in child sponsorship, you’re not only improving the lives of individual children but also building resilient communities equipped to withstand the challenges posed by climate change.