In Rick Steves’ 2020 documentary Hunger and Hope: Lessons from Ethiopia and Guatemala, Rick tours both Ethiopia and Guatemala. Neither trip is your typical tourist excursion. Instead, Rick explains that while much work has been done to stem world hunger—since 1990, the number of people living in extreme poverty has dropped by more than half—there are still about 1 billion people living in extreme poverty. Then, Rick tours Ethiopia and Guatemala as examples of countries where poverty and hunger rates are high—but so are hopes for prosperity.
Agros International is featured in the film as an example of a nonprofit making significant and innovative strides toward ending world hunger. Agros breaks the cycle of poverty and creates paths to prosperity for farming families in rural Central America—including Guatemala—by implementing programs in four key opportunity areas: land ownership, market-led agriculture, financial empowerment, and health & well-being.
If you’ve seen Hunger and Hope, you might remember that part of our work is helping migrant farm workers living in rural poverty become thriving agribusinessmen with their own farms.
In the film, Pedro, a participant in Agros’ programs, says, “I am feeling happy because now we have land where we can grow our own produce. And now, thanks to God, we were able to buy another piece of land up the hill. The people here are very poor, but right now we’re growing and we’re living a better life.” Pedro used to be a migrant farm worker. Now, he grows snow peas on his own plot of land. The snow peas are sold in England and are his most profitable crop.
Caterina and Diego, seen at the beginning of the film, also participated in Agros programs. Their house may look simple, but it’s much nicer than the one they had before. They own the land its on, and the house has a good concrete floor, electricity, a bedroom for the kids, and clean running water. Agros also helped Caterina and Diego learn how to raise goats. The goats they raise provide their children with protein-rich milk, and they’re able to sell the surplus dairy products for extra income.
By connecting people like Pedro, Diego, and Caterina with land, work, and diverse markets for their farm goods, we help them and their families leave poverty—and hunger—permanently behind.
We hope you’ll join us as we work to end global hunger and poverty. Sign up here for our email news and you’ll receive regular updates on our progress as well as occasional opportunities to get involved. You’ll feel connected to the families who need help—and you’ll be part of the solution as we work together to end global hunger and poverty.