Hunger Hotspot – Christian Aid Week Appeal
Hunger stalks the hillsides of Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz region. Here, many Indigenous families live without electricity, mains water or network coverage, on the frontline of a climate crisis they had no part in creating. Intense heatwaves and harsh droughts are causing food crops to die and rivers to dry up.
Amelia and her husband live with their two children in a home they built on land she inherited. It has no mains water or electricity but there is a river that runs through the bottom of the plot. Their children play in the water to escape the blistering temperatures the relentless heatwaves bring. The community catches fish, and families bathe and wash their clothes.
But the water is drying up in the heat. Where once it used to be waist-high, now it’s only ankle-deep.
Every Wednesday, Amelia goes to the market to sell her produce. But the market is shrinking because farmers have little to sell.
In Alta Verapaz, 90% of people live in poverty, and the climate crisis is causing vital crops to fail. With fruit and other produce hard to come by, people get by on rice and tortillas. For these Indigenous communities, their livelihoods, traditions and very survival are on the line.
But there is hope. Since 2011, Christian Aid has been working in Guatemala with its partner, Congcoop. In 2020, when hurricanes Eta and Iota forced almost 200,000 people out of their homes and into shelters, Congcoop offered vital humanitarian aid. Today, Congcoop offers training and tools so that farmers can grow more resilient crops, conserve water and create organic fertiliser.
When Amelia discovered these ‘agro-ecology’ initiatives, she volunteered to attend the training sessions and bring the learning back to other women in her community.
Amelia is hopeful of better times ahead: “My first priority is to feed my family. I want my children to go to school to finish their education and live a better life.”
This Christian Aid Week (11-17 May), your support could fund vital tools and training to help farmers like Amelia to push back against the challenges and injustice they face. There are so many ways to make a difference, for example with coffee mornings, bake sales and soup lunches, as well as running, hiking and biking events for the ‘70k in May’ challenge.
For more information or to make a donation, please visit caweek.ie
Pictured above: In Guatemala, Amelia and her 4-year-old daughter stand next to a banana tree that’s dying from drought. Devastating heatwaves are killing vital food crops and causing rivers to dry up. Credit: Christian Aid/Amy Sheppey.