Wicklow teacher highlights hunger in Guatemala ahead of fundraising walk
Gillian Porter, who teaches at St Brigid's National School in Annacurra, organises an annual walk to raise funds for Christian Aid Week, which runs from May 11 to 17 and is believed to be the UK and Ireland's longest fundraising campaign.
This year's walk, which is open to everyone, sets off from St Fiaac's Church at 10.30 am on Saturday 17 May – a 7km route through the grounds of Huntington Castle and along quiet roads, before returning to the church for light refreshments.
Gillian, who lives in Kilcarry, County Carlow and attends St Fiaac's Church of Ireland in nearby Clonegal, went on a self-funded trip to see Christian Aid's projects in Zimbabwe in July 2024, where, as in Guatemala, the charity helps farmers affected by drought and hunger brought on by the climate crisis.
She recently highlighted the work Christian Aid is doing to help farmers in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz region to make a living, despite intense heatwaves and harsh droughts that threaten their livelihoods, by holding up a corncob and a pineapple.
Forty per cent of Guatemala's Indigenous community live in extreme poverty, many without mains water, electricity or network coverage, with most relying on rain-fed farming to make their living.
As the climate crisis brings longer and harsher droughts, crops are failing, and hunger follows quickly. Across Guatemala, 46pc of children aged under five experience stunting of their growth because of 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.
Christian Aid's work with indigenous farming communities in Guatemala's 'Dry Corridor' is the focus of this year's Christian Aid Week appeal.
Christian Aid Ireland chief executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Gillian for highlighting the charity's work in Guatemala, saying: 'It is only with the support of people like Gillian and the others in her church that we can fund the work that enables farmers in Guatemala to survive the blistering temperatures and harsh droughts, so they can feed themselves and their families.'
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