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. 

This is Alicia Manuela Hernandez Pu. I was born in Zacualpa, Quiche on July 09, 2,016 and I am 9 years old. I am a healthy girl and I am studying the 3rd grade at school. My pastimes are playing tag and with dolls. I love horses and light blue. I enjoy eating rice with chicken. I have two brothers and four sisters. My sister Vilma is registered in the Feeding Program and we walk one hour to arrive there. We live under my grandparent`s care. My father`s name is Juan Hernandez Simaj and my mother`s name is Manuela Pu Tino. They are a hardworking couple. My father earns a living by working as a day laborer while my mother is a seamstress and she sews aprons and typical skirts to sell and support my father with the home expenses. We are a humble family and our current needs are groceries, clothing and shoes. As a family, we are attending the Catholic Church. 

We live in my father`s house, and we have five rooms. We do not have a special place to cook or a stove, so we cook on the ground. We are praying for provision and we believe that God will provide us with a stove. The rooms are made of adobe walls, tile roof and cemented floors. We get water from a natural spring from my grandfather. We carry it with jars to our house and we walk ten minutes to get it. My grandfather shares the electricity with us and my parents helps him to pay the service every month. We also have pigs and hens at home and because we have enough space in the house, we would like to have more chicks. Thank you for taking the time to read my news and may God bless you greatly!

Warm wishes,

Alicia Manuela Hernandez Pu

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