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! this is Geovani Tomas Garcia Gonzalez and I want to tell you about me. I was born in Joyabaj, Quiche on April05, 2015. I am ten years old and I am not studying because I do not want to. I stay at home and play with toy cars and soccer. I love sheep and blue color. My favorite food is beans and sausages. I have three brothers and two of them are registered in the Feeding Center. So, we attend together and my parents pay a moto-taxi (tuk-tuk) for us to go. We arrive there in fifteen minutes. My father or mother accompanies us. I am living under my parent`s care. My father`s name is Jesus Garcia Ruiz and he works as a farmer and day laborer. He also travels to the coast for six months to cut sugar cane during the harvest in order to earn extra money to cover our family needs while my mother raises and sells hens, pigs and turkeys. Moreover, she embroiders napkins also to sell and support my father with the home expenses. Her name is Maria Gonzalez Lopez. By the grace of God, my parents and my family are doing fine and in good health. As a family, our current needs are groceries and clothing. At the moment, we are not attending any church. 

I live in my parent`s house which consists of two adobe rooms, tin sheet roof and dirt floors. We have electricity and my father pays the bill monthly but there is no running water. We buy one big water barrel for Q 10.00 (US$1.00) and we go to a nearby river to wash our clothing.  We have hens, pigs and sheep at home and because we have enough space for them, we would like to have some chicks. Well, I will say goodbye to you for now, but I hope you like to read my personal information. May God bless you!

In Jesus’ love,

Geovani Tomas Garcia Gonzalez

Translated by:  Gladys Chavez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua