Global climate resilience fund | SEWA will work to tackle challenges of rising heat due to climate change: Hillary

“We have brought together a group of concerned people to help with this challenge and a number of those groups are represented here to help start global climate resilience fund in partnership with SEWA — the first fund like this in the world,” she said addressing members at the SEWA Reception Centre’s Hillary Chowk in Ahmedabad.

“I began talking with my friend Reema (Nanavaty, SEWA director) last year about the new struggles that heat is presenting… Whether you are in construction, waste recycling, plastics, street vendor or farmer… your challenge to make an income to support yourself and work through those days of overwhelming heat will be the next big problem that SEWA will find to help you solve,” Clinton said.

Clinton’s visit is with an aim to advance Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) commitments providing critical support for climate resilience in the region. These commitments were made by members of the CGI community at the CGI 2022 meeting, which resulted in 144 new commitments to action addressing climate resilience, global health equity, inclusive economic growth, the global refugee crisis, and other critical global challenges.

Referring to the Climate Resilience Fund, Clinton said that all the committed organisations will work over the next monsoon years. “This is not just a problem for SEWA. Anyone who has to go outside, have to work part of the day, police officers, firefighters, people in every walk of life who will be going out in this heat are going to need the kind of help and support that this project pioneered by SEWA will provide. We will need your advice, you are the people who will know the best. What kind of tools or gloves or cooling or insurance what kind of help will you need to be able to continue to do your jobs… you have to tell us…,” she added.
The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), Rockefeller Resilience Centre, Desai Foundation, the AI Gore Foundation, Council for Inclusive Capitalism and the American India Foundation that worked during the 2001 earthquake will work with SEWA to address “this very significant challenge”, Clinton said.

Pointing out that the membership of SEWA has increased manifold since her first and second visit, Clinton said, “Your stories are stories of courage, determination and inspiration. Because of your membership in SEWA, you have created new opportunity for yourself, families and communities. I think that is the reason SEWA membership has more than quadrupled since I was here in 1995. More than a 2.5 million women are inspired determined and courageous because they are working with you…,” she said.

Expressing hope that her daughter and “our daughters” can meet here to celebrate 100 years of SEWA, she said, “It is a great honour to join to commemorate 50th anniversary of SEWA and to honour the founder, friend and leader Elaben. How happy I am that we are gathered in the Hillary courtyard. I was here 28 years ago with my daughter Chelsea and I had such a wonderful memory… I will try to help my daughter and granddaughter to come for the 100th year.”

Remembering Elaben, SEWA senior leaders and next generation leaders also shared their struggle and achievements, when Clinton said, “I was very honoured to listen to the stories… I remember the story I heard in 1995, remember the story I heard when I visited with SEWA members when I was the US secretary of states and I remember the stories that I heard when I came here again in 2018.”

She also requested SEWA members to visit the Elaben memorial at the Lokmanya Tilak garden where the “beautiful monument” talks about how Elaben started SEWA in the park in 1972. “Take your family and children to show them where this started… you will also see the banyan tree that Elaben planted and it is a reminder that the work of change takes time but if you continue to water the roots and do what is necessary, you can create the change that we all need… that is what SEWA has done for 50 years and that is what you will do in next 50 and 100 years,” she concluded.

Sharing their experiences with SEWA, Parvatiben Makwana, executive committee member of SEWA and construction worker, said that they had many accidents at work but had no social security and hence negotiated for the constitution of the welfare board that was formed in 2004. “We formed a cooperative of construction workers and got training… our earnings increased from Rs 4,000 to Rs 20,000 per month,” she shared.

Pinakinben, a second generation waste recycler, said now they have mobile collection centre for dry waste. Anishaben Sheikh said that she encouraged her daughters to study and follow their dream. “Today they are boxing champions and won many national and state medals. I feel very proud,” she said.

Geetaben Solanki from Bhavnagar, a second generation downstream ship breaking woman worker involved in recycling anchor ropes, said that they are continuously exposed to harsh climate in hazardous working conditions. “We inhale polluted air while burning electrical waste… But we earn just Rs 150 to 200 per day,” she said.

On Monday, Clinton will visit Surendranagar district to meet salt pan workers and understand the farming process.