Tamariki are struggling to get enough food in a changing climate
Where did you get your kai today? The supermarket? The dairy? For many children living in Solomon Islands, getting food is not so simple.
In remote communities like Polyne’s, there aren’t any supermarkets. For generations, these communities have lived off the land, relying on fishing and farming for all of their kai. But now it’s hard to get enough food to eat.
Nine-year-old Polyne lives with her mum, her dad and four siblings in Solomon Islands.
Her family has always relied on fishing and growing crops in their garden for food and income. But over the years, that’s become harder and harder because of the impacts of climate change.
Every day now is a struggle for Polyne and her family to get enough food. Changing weather patterns mean most of their crops have been destroyed and catching fish is so much harder. There are fewer fish, and they’re further from the shore.
Rising seas have forced Polyne’s family to move inland, away from the shoreline. The land they once called home is eroding away and the soil is full of salt so their fruit trees and swamp taro can’t grow.
How you can make a difference
1 in 6 children in the Pacific region are living in severe child food poverty, leaving them at risk of hunger and malnutrition. But you can help.
Through this year’s World Vision 40 Hour Challenge, we’re uniting to raise funds so that communities like Polyne’s will have enough food in a changing climate.
You'll give families like Polyne's the tools and seeds to farm climate-smart crops so they will have a reliable source of food. You'll also enable them to plant mangroves to help protect their gardens from rising seas and attract fish back to shore.
This will ensure tamariki in Solomon Islands have enough food to grow up healthy and strong.
When the sea level rises, it destroys our food gardens. I’m so worried. Our garden is important because this is where we get our food.”
Polyne
