One mum's wish this Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day here in the UK this Sunday. So, this is the day when we can say, "thanks Mum" for everything she's done. I might be grown up (in theory) but I know that when I was a child my mum would have done anything to protect me.

But imagine if fulfilling that instinct was out of your hands. This is true for many parents around the world - and especially true for many women living in poverty.

I think it must be even worse if the thing that's causing this massive concern is climate change. Many people are powerless to do anything to halt it - unlike the leaders of the G20, the most powerful nations in the world that are meeting next month.

We met Martina in Kotido, Uganda, last year. She is one of our Sisters on the Planet, and told us she knows only too well that the weather has become more and more unpredictable. Droughts followed by floods were killing crops and livestock. She felt pretty hopeless and told us, "there aren't enough words to express the pain".

At the end of the video she made as part of Sisters on the Planet, she fed her youngest child and was regretful that she had to raise her children at this time, "What can I do for them now? What can I give them?" she asked.

We returned to the village this year to see how life had changed (see video). Martina can't do much to stop climate change but she is doing lots to help her community adapt to the effects that global emissions are having where they live.

And for those now getting ready to work out what last minute gift to buy for your mum, then you could go with something from our Unwrapped catalogue. Send your mum an e-card, it'll get there in time. And, more importantly, it will make a massive difference to the lives of people in situations similar to Martina.

Ian Sullivan is a campaigner at Oxfam