This year’s Christian Aid Week (11-17 May) is focusing on Christian Aid’s work in Guatemala, Central America, where the climate crisis is causing the seasons to intensify and shift erratically. As a result, farming communities have to battle devastating floods and intense heatwaves. Water sources are drying up and vital crops are failing, plunging farming families into hunger and poverty.

Caption: Amelia with her daughter, Yakelin. Credit: A.Sheppey/Christian Aid

Amelia is a resourceful and determined 24-year-old farmer, and a mother of two, from the Alta Verapaz region. She said the situation is very worrying:‘In the past three years, we’ve been experiencing high heat and a lack of rain. One of the biggest issues is the lack of water … my plantations have been dying … and there is no food for my family.’

Despite the challenges families like Amelia’s are facing, the unstoppable power of hope drives people to look for ways to push back.

With training from Christian Aid’s partner, Congcoop, Amelia’s gaining the skills and knowledge to cultivate native seeds that are better suited to the changing climate. She’s planning planting schedules that will deliver multiple harvests throughout the year, making her own organic fertiliser, and constructing rainwater collection systems.

Amelia’s also a leader in her community, sharing her knowledge with other households, so that one day, no family will worry about their children going without food.

To get involved with Christian Aid Week, visit caweek.org