My Story

Chuchuca, where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is more than a two-hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Chuchuca is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak an Indian dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello! This is Paula Gutierrez Sut and I will share some information about me. I was born in Zacualpa, Guatemala on January 6, 2021, and I am 4 years old. At school, I am in preschool. I spend my free time playing dolls. I love the color pink and cats. I like to eat rice with beans. I live with my mother and my sister. Thanks to God, we are in good health. but my sister Luciana was born with cleft lips. She was operated on twice but she needs one surgery more. Unfortunately, my mother can`t pay for it because we do not have enough resources to cover the cost of the surgery. Sadly, my father does not live with us. He abandoned us three years ago; thanks to God, he helps us economically. His name is Fredy Ariel Gutierrez Chingo. My mother´s name is Karina Vidalia Sut Portuguez. She is a housewife and takes care of us. We attend Christian Church; it is called Church of Christ. We live in my paternal grandfather’s house.

My grandfather shares it with us. My paternal grandmother and my aunts live there too. The house has four rooms, and we use two of them and a kitchen. It is made of adobe walls, tin sheet roof, and dirt floor. We have running water and electricity. They pay the running water each year and the electricity each month. We do not have domestic animals. We are a family with many needs. Some of them are groceries. We get to the feeding program by walking and it is 15 minutes from my house. For now, I say goodbye with much gratitude in my heart because you took time to read this letter.

Sincerely yours,

Paula Gutierrez Sut

Translated by: Magnolia De Torres / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala