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.

My full name is Angel Orlando Chingo Gomez and I am glad to greet you through this letter. Thankfully, I am a healthy 11-year-old boy. I was born on December 4, 2013. I am in fourth grade and I love playing soccer with my friends. My favorite colors are red and blue. I like wild animals, but my favorite is the tiger. I love having beef steak for my meals. The people who I live with are my mom and siblings. I have two brothers and one sister. We are members of a Christian Church. My mother’s name is Estela Micaela Gomez Jimon. She makes a living by selling chicken at the market to support our family. She usually takes my siblings and me with her. My father’s name is Camilo Chingo de la Cruz. Sadly, his marital relationship with my mom is unstable because he leaves our house for short periods, but after a while, he comes back. He does not help us economically.

My family and I live in a rented house, so we pay Q800=$103.78 monthly. 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. I beg you to pray for my family and our needs. Our priorities are clothes and food. The feeding program is about 30 minutes from where I live. To get there, we take a minibus. I send you huge hugs, hoping to hear from you.

With many blessings,

Angel Orlando Chingo Gomez

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala