March 8th is International Women’s Day, a time to reflect on how women are helping their communities overcome enormous challenges.

Byanyima: “Where I come from in Uganda, we are seeing the impacts of climate change already … droughts, flooding, droughts, flooding, farmers lose their crops.”

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International, says the effects of climate change often hit women the hardest. That’s because in many places, women are the ones responsible for farming and providing food for their families, frequently without much money.

But rather than talking about women as victims of climate change …

Byanyima: “I prefer to talk about women as providers of solutions to climate change.”

She says in many places, women collaborate and support one another as they adapt to more extreme weather.

Byanyima: “You see women forming communities to farm together, to lend each other money, adapting their farming methods or fishing methods, looking for ways to survive the impact of climate change, so I call them the climate heroes.”

Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy/ChavoBart Digital Media.

Photo credit: UN Women / Flickr.