My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiche Mayans 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 Mary Nayely De La Cruz Tiniguar and I was born on March 22, 2016. I am 9 years old and fortunately, I am healthy. I am enrolled in third grade and everything is going well. My favorite color is pink.  I like watching TV in my free time, and I love having chicken with rice for my meals. I like domestic animals, but my favorite one is the cat. Now, let me tell you that my family is healthy. We attend a Christian Church called Pentecostal United. My father’s name is Jaime De La Cruz Chingo. He works as a mason while my mom keeps busy at home with the household chores. Her name is Micaela Tiniguar Toj and she also raises hens at home.

We live in our own house. It is made of concrete blocks with a concrete roof and a ceramic floor. It has three rooms, a separate kitchen, electricity, and running water. We pay the running water annually while the electricity is paid monthly. Please pray for my family and our needs. One of them is food. The feeding program is about 10 minutes from my house. So, I get there on foot alongside one of my aunts. It is time to say bye to you now, but I am glad and grateful to you for taking time to read my information. See you later!

Kisses and hugs,

Mary Nayely De La Cruz Tiniguar

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala