“The reality is: climate change affects the amount of food children eat,” says Jerry Clewett, a man who has dedicated over a decade to serving in Nepal with BMS World Mission. “If we really have a heart for the poor, we have to take these issues seriously. And a good time to start is now.”

Watch this interview with Jerry to find out how creation care issues are having an impact on Nepal and its people – from unreliable rainfall causing failed harvests, to increased temperatures melting snow-caps on the stunning Himalayas. He also shares why he believes Christians should have a heart for creation care.

Worth Saving – Jerry Clewett from BMS World Mission on Vimeo.

Jerry has spent the last five years working as Technical Director for a BMS partner based in Kathmandu, and through his work and life in Nepal he has seen the impact of climate change on the lives of some of the country’s poorest people.

“We tend to think of climate change as something that will happen in the future, but actually the impacts on poor people in Nepal are happening now,” says Jerry. “Even if you can’t see it directly, the impact is massive and the knock on effect for the long term is huge. It’s going to get worse and worse.”

While the situation for many communities in Nepal, particularly in the west of the country, is growing ever more precarious due to the changing climate, our actions now can still make a difference. Jerry believes as Christians we have a mandate to care for creation.

“It’s very clear in the Bible that God wants us to look after his world – and not just our own little area,” he says. “I know it’s hard, because all the time we’re being bombarded with ads and consumerism – we’re being asked to do things that basically go against God’s plan.”

BMS has supported Green Abassadors in three schools in Nepal – enabling children to plant thousands of trees to anchor the soil and protect it from erosion, reducing the danger of landslides. Landslides claim countless lives in the country every year, so getting children to understand the impact of climate change, and enabling them to actively play a role in preventing one of the effects, is really important.

We’ve also been working with communities to help them come up with local action plans to adapt to the changing climate. Nepal is responsible for less than 0.025 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions. We don’t want to tell people how to respond to the growing environmental disaster they have had no part in creating ─ rather we want to equip them to own their response.

“If we don’t look after the world, we’re basically disobeying God’s plan,” says Jerry.

BMS is committed to caring for creation and for standing alongside those in countries like Nepal, who are being disproportionately impacted by the devastating effects of climate change.

You can stand with us by praying and acting.

Words: Jerry Clewett and Jessica.