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 Jonas Neftaly Coj Coj. I was born on May 21^th, 2020, in Zacualpa, Quiche, Guatemala. I am 4 years old and I am healthy. Since I am too young, I am not attending school. I like to play football and tag with my siblings. My favorite color is red and my favorite animal is the dog. I like to eat fried chicken. I have two brothers and one sister. I attend the Zacualpa feeding program and I get there in 15 minutes by tuk-tuk.

My father is Jose Coj Garcia. He works as a mechanic the whole week to supply our needs. My mother is Yolanda Coj Ruiz. She takes care of the house, and she raises hens, pigs and a cow. My parents and siblings are in good health. We live in a 2 room block house with a tin sheet roof and a cement floor. The kitchen is separated. We are blessed to have a natural spring at home, and we bring water with the help of a hose for free. We do not need the public running water. We also have electricity service and my father pays for it monthly. The essential needs for us are groceries. We attend Church of Christ. Thank you so much for being interested in reading my information. Many and abundant blessings over you!

Bunch of hugs,

Jonas Neftaly Coj Coj

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez, AAC Secretary / Antigua