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.

It is a pleasure to say hello to you. My name is Aylin Gomez Jimon and I want to share my information with you. By the grace of the Lord, I am a healthy 5-year-old girl. I was born on May 16, 2019. I am in pre-kinder now. My favorite pastime is playing with my dolls. I love having chicken with rice for my meals. My favorite color is pink and I love butterflies. The people who I live with are my mom and brothers. I have three brothers, but no sisters. 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. When I was born, he did not want to recognize me legally. That is why I only have my mother’s last name.

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. It is time to say goodbye, but I send you many kisses and hugs. See you later!

With much love,

Aylin Gomez Jimon

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala