My Story

Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiche, 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 Quiche - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system. 

Hello! My name is Erika Maria Morente Sontay, and I want to share with you a little about my family and me. I am 11 years old, and I was born on January 18, 2014. I am in good health, and I am attending 5^th grade this year. In my free time, I play with dolls. My favorite color is purple, and I like cats. I enjoy eating black beans with rice. I have one brother and one sister, and we are happy because we have been registered at the feeding program this year. We walk for 20 minutes to arrive at the program.

My father’s name is Cesar Edy Morente de la Cruz, and he works as a day laborer and goes to pick coffee beans at the coast for two months. My mother’s name is Florinda Sontay Perez, and she is a housewife; she sometimes works as a maid with our neighbors. Thank God, my whole family is in good health. We are attending the Catholic Church. I tell you that we live in a house that belongs to a neighbor, and thankfully, we do not have to pay him anything. The house only has one room, so we sleep and cook in the same room. It is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have electricity service, and we get the water from a well; we use jars to get the water. Well, this is all for now, and I hope to have news from you soon.

With much love

Erika Maria Morente Sontay

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua