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! I greet you lovingly, hoping you are in good health wherever you are. My name is Gladys Candelaria Garcia Coj and this is my story. I was born on February 28, 2012. I am in fourth grade. I enjoy playing soccer, and my favorite color is pink. I love rabbits and my favorite vegetable is broccoli. As for health, let me tell you that I am stable, although I do not eat enough because of a lack of appetite. I have not gone to the doctor, but I will do it soon. The people who I live with are my mother and siblings. I have three brothers and two sisters. Sadly, I do not have my father with me because he did not want to recognize me legally. I know nothing about him. My mother’s name is Isabel Garcia Coj. She makes a living as a domestic employee. She sometimes takes my younger siblings and me to work, but most of the time, we are under the care of one of my aunts. My oldest siblings help us a little bit economically, so we are grateful for that. They work as assisting masons.

My family and I attend a Christian Evangelical Church in our community. We live in a rented house. My mom pays Q800=$102.14 per month. The house has two rooms and a separate kitchen. The walls are made of blocks with a tin sheet roof and concrete floors. We have electricity but no running water. Therefore, we must buy containers of water; we usually pay Q3=$0.38 per container. We are a needy family and besides running water, we need groceries and clothes. The feeding program is a 10-minute walk from where I live. To end this letter, I want you to know that my mom helped me to give all this information to a teacher of LW. Thank you so much for reading my information! I say goodbye to you for now, but I wish a lot of happiness and success for you.  

From the bottom of my heart,

Gladys Candelaria Garcia Coj

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala