Rainproof Calvary: First Nigerian SDA Church
Faith-based climate and health resilience, built with and for a Bed-Stuy community of West African immigrants and the next generation of Climate and Health Ambassadors.
Rainproof Calvary brought climate and health education into a trusted faith community in Bedford-Stuyvesant. The project gave residents a clear picture of how extreme rainfall affects their health, and the steps they can take to stay safe.
It started with a workshop for more than 50 community members, run in partnership with NYC Emergency Management and NY Disaster Interfaith Services. From there, local youth were trained as Climate and Health Ambassadors, so the work could keep growing through peer education across the community.
The project closed a gap between technical climate information and the kind of practical, culturally relevant action that actually changes outcomes. It focused on flooding and extreme heat, two risks that hit this community especially hard.
The youth Climate and Health Ambassadors are now sharing what they learned with their families and friends. That has moved the community from passive awareness into active preparedness.
THE OUTCOMES
50+ congregants engaged in a workshop with NYC Emergency Management and NY Disaster Interfaith Services. Trained a youth cohort as Climate and Health Ambassadors."
ON the ground
LOOKING AHEAD: What's next for Rainproof Calvary?
The Rainproof Calvary First Nigerian SDA Church initiative has established a sustained community of congregants with advanced awareness of climate-related risks, particularly flooding and extreme heat, and a strengthened capacity to prepare for and respond to these hazards. Youth participants trained as Climate & Health Ambassadors have further amplified this impact by serving as peer educators, extending knowledge into households and social networks. Collectively, the initiative has begun to shift the community from passive awareness to active preparedness and resilience.
Rainproof Calvary First Nigerian SDA Church is currently engaging a second faith-based congregation to implement a similar initiative, informed by and building upon the lessons learned from this project. Their goal is to strategically expand this model to additional communities with similar demographic and cultural profiles, leveraging its demonstrated effectiveness to scale impact and advance climate and health resilience across comparable populations.
Want to get involved with Rainproof Calvary?
PARTNER WITH CHEF
Bring CHEF to Your Community to host climate and health workshops in your faith community or organization.
BECOME AN AMBASSADOR
Train as a Community Climate and Health Ambassador and lead resilience work in your own network.
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SUPPORT THE WORK
Help CHEF scale faith-based climate resilience to more communities across NYC and beyond.
GET INVOLVED IN RAINPROOF NYC
We each have a role to play in Rainproof.
Rainproof NYC is where all stakeholders learn from each other and act collectively to tackle increasingly heavy rainfall and flash floods.The growing Rainproof NYC network brings together community groups, city officials, technical experts, policy advocates, private sector partners, educators, and more to understand and address flooding in NYC.
Ways you can get involved include:
- Stay updated on new pilot projects, events, and funding opportunities.
- Collaborate with the Rainproof NYC Network.
- Join a Rainproof Event.
- Learn from other cities in our Rainproof Series.
- Participate in or Pilot Rainproof NYC Projects.
- Share Rainproof Resources & Expertise.