Salem Radio Network Hosts Speak on Behalf of Guatemala’s Poor

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (February 22, 2017) Three of the nation’s biggest radio talk show hosts traveled with Food For The Poor to Guatemala this month, spotlighting the plight of suffering families and children.

Driving through the scenic mountains of Guatemala is a captivating journey with its twisting roads and volcanic mountain vistas. But one of the most beautiful places in Central America is also one the poorest places in which Food For The Poor works.

For 17 years, Food For The Poor’s Radio Marketing Department has traveled with radio hosts from across the United States to Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Guatemala to provide hope for the poor. This year, Salem Radio Network hosts Mark Davis, Larry Elder and Mike Gallagher and others from the communications company joined Food For The Poor and its on-air personalities on a four-day journey to Guatemala.

As the radio hosts campaign for funding to help feed and provide clean water for the poor, they also educate their listeners about the poverty that plagues parts of the Caribbean and Latin America.

Mark Davis, who hosts The Mark Davis Show on 660 AM KSKY in Dallas and also writes a column for the Dallas Morning News, said the experience was life-changing for him, his wife, Lisa, and son Ethan, who accompanied him on the trip.

“The messages I bring to the show are now wrapped in the memories of these amazing people who find not just survival but joy, when they get the kind of help you can provide through Food For The Poor,” Davis said. “Here we are with a chance to give families food, water, hope and a shot at a fruitful life.”

Larry Elder, a lawyer, writer, radio and TV personality whose show, The Larry Elder Show, is syndicated nationally, said he witnessed how Food For The Poor teaches families to be more self-sufficient and more productive.

“This is not just a charity. This is not just a hand out. This is a hand up,” he said.

Mike Gallagher, a frequent Fox News Channel contributor whose nationally syndicated radio show, The Mike Gallagher Show, is heard by more than 3.75 million weekly listeners, said he could see God’s face in the children of Guatemala.

“The need is nourishing food, water and the hope and promise of a better life. That’s what all these people here in Guatemala want,” Gallagher said. “I will never forget the gratitude expressed by the men, women and children who were the recipients of the generosity of strangers. I will forever be grateful for the opportunity to tell my radio audience about the countless lives that are saved all over the world, thanks to Food For The Poor.”

Phil Boyce, Senior Vice President for Salem Radio Network and Spoken Word Format, said destitute families in Guatemala are living in “pathetic” conditions compared to living standards in the United States.

“It’s up to us to be bigger than ourselves,” Boyce said. “It’s up to us to give back to those less fortunate. It’s what we’re called to do.”

The group’s journey through Guatemala showed many signs of hope. At the San Jeronimo Feeding Center, Boyce was reunited with an 11-year-old girl whom he met on a previous trip when she was 8.

“Every time I come back, I get to see her a little bit bigger. She’s got such a beautiful smile. She looks out for her little sister all the time,” Boyce said.

Food For The Poor took the group to the Santa Familia Homeless Feeding Center in Antigua, Guatemala, that feeds 250 homeless people three times a week, with food provided by the charity’s compassionate donors. While at the center, the group fed the poor and played with the children. Boyce came with a toy bubble machine that delighted the children as it blew soapy bubbles into the air.

The group also visited a thriving greenhouse in El Yalu, Chimaltenango, an agricultural project for women, which also was funded by donors through Food For the Poor.

Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor, said the radio hosts traveled to parts of Guatemala that tourists never see, such as a 20-room tenement where families of five live in each room.

“They can see for themselves how difficult day-to-day life really is for people without the bare necessities,” Aloma said. “They were able to make a difference in the lives of the men, women and children they’ve met in Guatemala. They will be able to do this by sharing their own personal experiences with their loyal listeners here in the United States.”

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. Over the last 10 years, fundraising and other administrative costs averaged less than 5% of our expenses; more than 95% of all donations went directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Michael Turnbell

Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]