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! It is a great happiness for me to greet you through this letter. My name is Yesenia Yadira Nohemi Ajqui Quino and this is my story. I was born on January 15, 2015. I am in second grade, and what I love doing the most is drawing and painting. My favorite animals are pigs, I love eating fried chicken, and my favorite color is purple. The people who I live with are my biological parents and siblings. I have two brothers and one sister. My father’s name is Hugo Ajqui de la Cruz. He works as a farmer and watches over the cattle of our neighbors. My mother’s name is Maria Quino Portuguez. She does her best for our family as a housewife. Thankfully, we are in good health. My family and I attend a Christian Church in our community.

We have our own house. However, we live in another house because of my father’s job. That property belongs to one of my paternal uncles. He has allowed us to live there for free. The house has one room and a separate kitchen. The walls are made of bricks with a tin sheet roof and dirt floors. We have running water and electricity. My father is in charge of paying for those services. We live at my uncle’s house from Monday to Friday. We usually visit our own house on weekends. Our house is about a 40-minute walk away from my uncle’s house. We raise pigs, hens, and ducks at home. Some of our greatest needs are groceries, a new closet, and a bed. I am glad because I can eat delicious meals at the feeding program. My siblings and I usually walk 30 minutes from where we live to get there. Thank you so much for reading my letter! To end with this, I want you to know that my mom helped me to give all this information to a teacher of LW. I will leave you now, but I wish you many blessings and a lot of success!

In the name of Jesus,

Yesenia Yadira Nohemi Ajqui Quino

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala