Coleraine grandmother highlights hunger in Guatemala

Lilian Edgar, who is Christian Aid’s representative at Hazelbank Presbyterian Church in the town, held up a corn cob and pineapple to symbolise the work the aid agency is doing to help farmers in Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz region to make a living, despite the intense heatwaves and harsh droughts that threaten their livelihoods.

Forty per cent of Guatemala’s Indigenous community live in extreme poverty, many without mains water, electricity or network coverage.

Most rely on rain-fed farming to make their living but as the climate crisis brings longer and harsher droughts, crops are failing and hunger follows quickly. Across Guatemala, 46% of children aged under five experience stunting of their growth due to a lack of nutrition in their diet.

Corn, which is a staple food in Guatemala, is especially sensitive to drought but Christian Aid’s local partner Congcoop has been encouraging farmers to reintroduce the ancient practice of ‘companion planting’ - first developed by Indigenous communities in the Americas - where corn, beans and squash are grown together in the same plot.

The Christian Aid funded project also encourages farmers to introduce pineapple which tolerates drought well.

Lilian, who coordinates the fundraising efforts of Hazelbank Presbyterian Church on behalf of Christian Aid, is planning a number of events to mark Christian Aid Week, which runs from 11-17 May and is the UK’s longest running fundraising campaign.

For more information and to support this year’s Christian Aid Week appeal, please visit caweek.ie