My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiché Mayans 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.

Hello! My name is Yoni Mauricio Riz Gomez and I want you to know that my heart is beating with joy to greet you through this letter. Before telling you my story, let me tell you that my mother helped me to give all this information to a teacher of LW. I was born on August 16, 2019. I am still young, so I am not attending school this year. I have fun playing soccer. My favorite color is red, I love eating black beans with eggs, and my favorite pets are dogs. The people who I live with are my biological parents and one brother. My father’s name is Camilo Riz Simaj, and he makes a living as a day laborer and farmer. My mother’s name is Estela Gomez Mechen. She keeps busy doing chores and raising hens to sell.

We attend Ebenezer Church. We live in our own house; it has one room and a separate kitchen. The walls are made of bricks with a tin sheet roof and concrete floors. We get water from a nearby river. One of my maternal aunts lives near our home and she is the one who shares electricity with us. My parents pay for half of that service. As for health, my family and I are doing well. What we need the most are groceries and clothes. I attend the feeding program in Zacualpa. It is a 30-minute walk from my house. I say goodbye to you for now, but if you want to know a little bit more about my life, feel free to ask me. See you later!

Kind regards,

Yoni Mauricio Riz Gomez

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala