Gracehill woman highlights hunger in Guatemala

A Gracehill woman is drawing attention to the plight of Indigenous farmers in Guatemala where the climate crisis is causing crops to fail, driving families into hunger and malnutrition.

Sally Ann Johnston, who is Christian Aid’s representative at Gracehill Moravian Church, 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.

This practice boosts yields because the large squash leaves provide ground cover, suppressing weeds and retaining moisture, while the beans fix nitrogen, enriching the soil without the need for expensive fertilisers. The Christian Aid funded project also encourages farmers to introduce pineapple which tolerates drought well.

Sally Ann, a mother of three boys and a healthcare worker, coordinates the fundraising efforts of Gracehill Moravian Church on behalf of Christian Aid.

She 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. The charity’s work with Indigenous farming communities in Guatemala’s ‘Dry Corridor’ is the focus of this year’s Christian Aid Week appeal.

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