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! My name is Dominga Alejandrina Grave Ruiz. I was born on April 27^th, 2021, in Joyabaj, Quiche, Guatemala. I am 4 years old and I am a healthy girl. Because of my young age, I am not attending school yet. I like to play football with my brother. My favorite color is purple and my favorite animal is the cat. I love to eat fried chicken. I have one brother and no sisters. Our pet is a dog. I attend the Zacualpa feeding program and I walk for 5 minutes to arrive; my mother takes me to the program.

My father is Rigoberto Grave Gomez. He makes a living as a merchant and is the one who provides for our home needs. My mother is Roselia Elvira Ruiz Chingo de Grave. She takes care of the house. We live in a rented house and the monthly payment is Q450.00 = $60.00; the house belongs to one of our relatives. There is only one room made of blocks with tin sheet roof and a cement floor. We don't have running water, but we get it from the river. There is electricity, and my father pays the bill monthly. We attend a Christian church. Thank you for reading my information. May God bless you!

Bunch of hugs,

Dominga Alejandrina Grave Ruiz

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez, AAC Secretary / Antigua