My Story

Hello! I am Ana Florinda Marleny Simaj Garcia, and it is a great pleasure to greet you through this letter. I am thirteen years old, and this year, I am in the fourth grade again because I did not pass it. I am attending school every week, and thank God, I am learning very well. I help my mom with the chores at home. I love to eat fried chicken in the feeding program, and when it was closed due to the pandemic, I missed attending it and the food, but fortunately, the program is open again. I walk about forty minutes to arrive. Sadly, my father abandoned us years ago. My mother is the only who supplies our needs, and she works as a day laborer. She also raises domestic animals for selling. When my mom has extra money, she buys some homemade snack to share as a family. We do not celebrate Christmas for lack of money. My family and I attend Church of Christ, and it is located about thirty minutes from our house.

The pandemic affected our country, and many churches were closed, but fortunately, we had services closed door. We live in our own house, and it is made of adobe, tiles roof and dirt floor. We have running water and electricity. There are two rooms and a kitchen. The roof has a part of wood, but we need to fix it because it is a little deteriorated. Our needs are groceries and clothes. Thank God, we all are healthy. My family was affected a lot by the pandemic situation because sometimes, we did not have enough money. Thank God, we received groceries from the feeding program, and it was a great blessing. We pray that God pays you back for all you have done for many families. I want you to know that my mother gave this information about me. I send you many hugs and kisses with much love. May God bless you!

Kind regards,

Ana Florinda Marleny Simaj Garcia

Translated by: Esther Hernández, AAC Secretary/Antigua