Kids on a rock, originally uploaded by DaveWilsonPhotography.

Guatemala has been much on my mind this week after reading about the terrible drought and resulting failure of the corn crop. Texas has just experienced one of its worst droughts on record but we can be extremely thankful that, even in the midst of such a natural calamity, we don’t generally end up going without dinner.

In the rural areas of Guatemala, where many of the people are subsistence farmers, things are very different. The failure of a corn crop results in no food for the winter months and, given agricultural workers pay, there is no extra money to buy corn from elsewhere.

In an attempt to help at least a little bit, Kathi Thomas, neighbour, friend and fellow Guatemala fundraiser, is organising a benefit concert at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin on November 22nd. It will feature child performers for the first hour and the wonderful Joe McDermott for the second hour. If you have kids and live anywhere in central Texas, you likely know Joe already but, if you don’t, I can tell you that he is definitely worth hearing – he is a children’s entertainer who has the unusual gift of being enjoyed by adults too.

If you’re not in or around Austin, there are other ways to help. Look out for local charities working in Central America and see what you can do to help. A donation of time or money would no doubt be greatly appreciated. If you are at your computer, the organisation I work with is delighted to receive donations and, from personal experience, I know that the money given goes directly to projects that help the neediest people in western Guatemala.

If you would like to see a bit more of what we do, the video below was produced for Sunday Schools to explain one of the programs that our partnership promotes.

Guatemala – Life Change from Dave Wilson on Vimeo.