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 Mayani 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! This is Luis Enrique and I am 6 years old. My parents´ names are Luis de la Cruz de la Cruz and Hilaria Grave de la Cruz. My dad works as a farmer while my mother improves the incomes by weaving besides the hard work she does at home. I have one brother and one sister. My sister and I are registered in the feeding program.  I live happily with my family in Tunaja.

Thankfully, my parents own a house that has one room and a separate kitchen. It has adobe walls, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. There is running water and electricity and my father pays the electricity. We have domestic animals at home and they are chickens. Our family attends the Prince of Peace Church. Our greatest necessity is food.

I was born on August 1^st, 2017 in Joyabaj, Quiche, I am still in kindergarten due to my age. I enjoy playing football. I love eating rice. I like cats and my favorite color is green. Thank God, my health is good. I feel happy to attend the feeing program. Sometimes I take the bus to go, but most of the time, I walk for about 20 minutes to be there. I thank my mother for sharing this information with the LW teacher because you will be able to read it. Thank you so much for loving us from the distance. I pray God takes care of every person who generously contributes for our support through Living Water. May God bless you even more!

Best regards from now on,

Luis Enrique de la Cruz Grave

Translated by: Mireya de Sadoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua