Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Cuatro Caminos is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiche Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system. 

I greet you with much love hoping you are doing well. This is Anderson Rolando Gustavo Gomez Benito, and I greet you from Cuatro Caminos village. I was born on October 29, 2019, so I am 5 years old. My mother’s name is Santos Benito Gomez, and she is working in a tortillas business in Guatemala City. My father’s name is Rolando Gomez Toj, and he does not live with us; he left us to live with another woman four years ago. I do not know what kind of job he does, but he helps my mother financially. I have one brother and one sister, and they are also registered at the feeding program. We walk for 15 minutes to arrive at the program, and one of our aunts accompanies us there. As a family we attend Prince of Peace Church.  

I am not attending school yet, so I stay at home playing soccer or other games. I am in good health. I love eating black beans with sausage.  My favorite animal is the dog, and I like the color purple. My family and I live with my maternal grandparents, and when my mother is at the city, my grandparents take care of my siblings and me. The house is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor, and it has two rooms and one kitchen. We have running water and electricity services, and my mom pays these bills. My grandparents have hens and pigs at home. Corn and groceries are our frequent needs, and I hope God always provides them to us. Well, I end my letter hoping to hear good news from you. May God bless you! 

Sincerely yours 

Anderson Rolando Gustavo Gomez Benito 

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua