My Story

Jocotenango, where your child lives, is in the state of Sacatepéquez, Guatemala and is a suburb of Antigua. It is an urban environment and is inhabited by both Quiché Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). Most of the children attend school, but financial hardship affects many families and forces most of the children to leave after the sixth grade. Only one out of ten children finish high school. Children in this area face temptations from gangs and drugs.

Hello! My name is Melody Allison Yamileth De Leon Mendez. I am a healthy child who was born on September 4, 2015. Currently, I am 8 years old, and I am in 1^st grade. I stay at home playing with my dolls and toys in my free time. I love the color red, and I like cats. My favorite food is pizza. I have two brothers and one sister; two of them are registered at the feeding program too. My family and I attend the Catholic Church. My father’s name is William Giovanni de Leon Moscoso, but he has not lived with us in the past four years because he had personal problems with my mother. He does not support us, and we do not have communication with him. My mother’s name is Pamela Isabel Mendez Valdez, and she is struggling to cover our needs since she does not have a stable job. She works as a Spanish teacher only by seasons, and there are times that she does the laundry of others.

We live in a rented house, and we pay Q1,000.00 quetzals (about $134) per month. The house has one room and a separate kitchen, and it is made of concrete block with a tin sheet roof and concrete floor. Thankfully, we have running water and electricity services. My grandmother, Miriam Valdez, helps us with the rent payment. We have two cats as pets. I walk for 30 minutes to arrive at the feeding program. I would like to ask you to pray for my mom so that she can find a stable job. My mom helped me to give this information to a LW Evangelism teacher. I thank you for reading my little letter, and I hope you find it interesting.

Warm greetings

Melody Allison Yamileth De Leon Mendez

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio/A-A-C Secretary, Antigua Guatemala