Day 65 - Facing the climate crisis

“Follow my decrees and be careful to obey my laws, and you will live safely in the land. Then the land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and live there in safety.”

Leviticus 25 vv18-19

How does climate change directly affect you? According to the Met Office, across the UK we are likely to see warmer and wetter winters, hotter and drier summers and more frequent and intense weather extremes. In the immediate future, for many this may bring inconvenience, extra expense, or a need to superficially adapt our ways of life. For others, including anyone involved in farming or living in areas at risk of flooding, it could be more significant.

But what about Amelia?

Amelia, a 24-year-old farmer, lives with her husband and their two children in the Q’eqchi’ community of the Alta Verapaz region of Guatemala in central America. Increasingly intense heatwaves and storms are ravaging her farm. As the local river runs dry, and water becomes scarce, vital crops wither and die before her eyes. To make matters worse, no more than a mile away, industrial plantations are taking the last of the region’s natural resources to feed the world’s richest countries.

Amelia’s farm, first and foremost, feeds her young children. She tries to grow a range of crops to provide her children with a balanced diet. But recent harvests have failed, and now the family’s diet largely consists of rice and tortillas. Even fruit and vegetables have now become unobtainable locally.

What can she do? Fortunately, help is available from Congcoop, a local organisation bringing together NGOs and cooperatives across Guatemala. Congcoop supports communities like Amelia’s to return to Indigenous farming practices and adopt agroecological approaches that conserve their land, culture and livelihood. By joining Congcoop, Amelia is 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.

By changing the way she farms, Amelia is working with nature and pushing back against the climate crisis.

Amelia has become a recognised leader in her community, sharing her knowledge to train other women to adapt their farming practices too. With coaching from Congcoop, she also raises awareness about the environmental impact of the nearby industrial monoculture plantations. She encourages people to not give up on their farmland, and to never sell it to developers.

Amelia’s story is one of endurance, pragmatism and strength in the face of climate change and economic injustice. For her and her family, adaptation is not an inconvenience, it is a matter of survival. The life chances for Amelia and her community have been transformed by the work of Congcoop. And behind Congcoop sits funding and support from Christian Aid.

Christian Aid has been working across the world, supporting countless local partners like Congcoop over the last 80 years. In the Congregational Federation we have a rich and long history of working alongside Christian Aid, standing together in solidarity with our most marginalised global neighbours.

Next week is Christian Aid Week. What can we do this Christian Aid Week to stand with people like Amelia, and to give, act and pray for justice in our World?

A prayer for Christian Aid Week 2025

Lord, you are faithful to your promises.

Through the Spirit, you bless us with abounding hope.

When power seeks to silence justice,

give us the courage to raise our voice.

When an end to poverty seems far off,

renew our faith in your kingdom come on earth.

When our neighbour reaches out,

inspire us to respond with overflowing love.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen

Christian Aid / Philip Clarke