Guatemala

We’re halfway through our shoot for an upcoming new special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope” — and I’ve been thinking about something that people in the developing world have told me: “Globalism is a big train. Get on it or get run over.”

With uniform quality, smart branding, and lots of infrastructure, countries like Guatemala are competing in the global market. And with that, comes development. Join me in this clip as I explore a giant sugar plant, filled with mountains of sugar.

I’m in Guatemala with my crew, filming an upcoming special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope” — and I’m learning a lot.

Sugar is big here. And it takes infrastructure, like this giant sugarcane mill, to mulch a 24/7 parade of truckloads of sugarcane and process it all into sugar. This is what progress and smart development look like.

I have a lot of love and respect for teachers.

Here in Guatemala, we’re learning how critical an educated workforce is to development. Today, we dropped in on a delightful village school, where Diego was inspiring his students — the future of Guatemala.

I’m here with my crew, filming an upcoming special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope.” It will air this November on public television across the US.

We’re in Guatemala, filming an upcoming special about how modern development aid is helping 700 million people work their way out of extreme poverty — and we’re showing how non-governmental organizations and supportive governments are helping small farmers get into the production chain and join the global economy. Why just grow corn when you can take advantage of a goat reproduction center and get a little goat-dairy income, too?

In this clip, you can see the fine art of coaching people who’ve never been in front of a camera before. (“Ignore the camera and act naturally.”) But our friends did just great. (BTW, this is our first shoot with a drone. We’ve long joked about “calling in the Back Door chopper.” Now we’re getting those aerials. How did we ever manage without our drone?)

Living in such wild affluence as we do in the USA, it’s hard to imagine the world norms. More than 700 million people are in extreme poverty, trying to live on less than $2 a day. I don’t want to romanticize poverty — but I was struck by this humble home and wanted to share it with you. Moving out of “extreme poverty” and into just “poverty” comes with a concrete floor, electricity, water, an efficient fireplace, and a little dignity. Take a look.

I’m here with my crew, filming an upcoming special called “Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hunger, and Hope.” It will air this November on public television across the US. Stay tuned for more.