My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiché Indians and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). The prevalent language is Spanish. Families in this village live in one or two room homes generally constructed of either wood or adobe. Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small specialized stores, a body repair shop for buses, mechanics, plumbers and many other small-town tradesmen. It also has a large open-air market which serves much of the area. Even with all of this, the poverty level is very high and the children are very needy.

Hello! I am very excited to share my information in this opportunity. My name is Gladis Luz Sofia Garcia Buchan. I was born on December 3^rd, 2019 in Joyabaj, Quiche, Guatemala. I am a healthy 5-year-old girl. Due to my young age, I am not attending school yet. So, I stay at home and I enjoy playing with my dolls and playing tag with my siblings. I love cats and my favorite color is yellow. The tastiest food for me is black beans with eggs. I am very happy to be registered in the feeding program; I get there by walking in 30 minutes.

My father is Rene Garcia Quino. He works both as a farmer and construction helper to provide for our family. My mother is Elida Gladis Buchan Garcia. She is a housewife, raises some hens and takes care of my siblings and me.  I have two brothers and no sisters. At the moment, we do not attend any church. We do not have our own house; we are living in my grandparents´ house. There are two rooms and the kitchen is separated. Even though my grandparents live there too, my parents supply our family needs separately. It is an adobe house with a tin sheet roof and a dirt floor. There are running water and electricity services and my father pays for those services. As a family, our greatest needs are corn and groceries. Thanks for reading my information. May God bless you!

Warm hugs,

Gladis Luz Sofia Garcia Buchan

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez, AAC Secretary / Antigua