On 20th May I'll be running the Hackney Half Marathon to fundraise for the amazing Asociación Vida, a project from Guatemala that partners with Tearfund to improve indigenous communities' access to healthcare and health education.

Guatemala's beautiful countryside belies a troubled political past. In 1996, the government signed a peace treaty ending a civil war that had been raging for 36 years. The end of the war signalled progress for the nation, but the effects of the war are still felt. Gang and organised crime violence and drug trafficking test the government and police control.

Economically, more than half the population is living in poverty and over 40 percent of the children under the age of five are malnourished. Guatemala's profitable production of coffee, sugar, and bananas for export has contributed to less production of grains, which have to be imported for food.

Aiming to promote organisation and solidarity among Mayan indigenous communities, Asociación Vida runs sexual education, HIV, community health and medical aid programmes. The project is committed to mobilising churches to work with their communities to identify problems and take action to overcome them, including advocating for change.

Tearfund supports Asociación Vida's church mobilisation and advocacy work in such areas as raising indigenous people’s access to healthcare and addressing corruption in hospitals, where medicines are often in short supply.

I have supported this project for a few months, and have had the privilege to meet with the brilliant Alexis Pacheco who leads Tearfund's work in Guatemala. I would greatly appreciate any donation you can give, which will go directly towards the work of this project.

Luke