My Story

Tunaja is a small area of the state of Quiché, Guatemala. The inhabitants are Quiché Mayans who trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. The prevalent language is the Mayan dialect - Quiché. The people are either farmers or shepherds and live off the fruits of their labors. Very little money ever changes hands as they use a barter system. Public education is available - however, most families cannot afford it. Electricity and running water are not available in most of the area. Life in Tunaja is difficult.

Hello, my name is Brayan Francy. I was born on September 1^st, 2017, in Zacualpa, Quiche. I turned six this year, but I am still not attending school due to my young age. I stay at home playing with toy cars and teddies. I have been a healthy boy. I like pigeons and my favorite color is blue. I love eating fried chicken. I have a big family with two brothers and three sisters. One brother and two of my sisters are registered in the feeding program. We sometimes walk to the program and it takes us 30 minutes. On the other side, if we take a bus, it takes us 10 minutes to be there.

We attend the Prince of Peace Church in Tunaja where we live. Juan Ramos de la Cruz is my father. He is a mason, but also works as a day laborer when it is necessary.  Encarnacion Ordonez Raguex is my mother. She does the hard work at home but also contributes with the incomes by raising some domestic animals such as chickens to sell.

We live in our own two-room house. It has a separated kitchen also. The house has wood walls, tin sheet roof and cemented floor. We get our water from a well that is 20-minutes left from the house. All of us help to carry water from the well to the house with “tinajas” (plastic or clay big jars). There is also electricity that my parents pay monthly. It is hard for my parents to provide everything we need due to the hard economic situation. For that reason, our main needs are food and clothes for my siblings and me. Well, I feel so grateful that you were interested to read about my life. I send you my love and best wishes from Guatemala.

Best regards from now on,

Brayan Francy Ramos Ordonez

Translated by: Mireya de Sadoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua