My Story

Hello! How are you? We hope you are fine. We are writing this letter on behalf of Estela Luis Ruiz; her parents helped us to collect her information. She was born on October 20, 1984, so she is now 39 years old. She is a girl who suffers from mental retardation; she has never been checked by a specialist due to their economic situation. There are times that she leaves home for one or two weeks, and her parents say that during this time, she sleeps in abandoned houses. When she gets angry, she turns violent and there have been times that she has hit her mother. She also goes to the neighbors’ houses, and she has broken pots and other kitchenware. Her father is worried because he has to pay for the damage done. He is looking for a place to place her, but he does not know where. 

The parents do not have any health or mental problem, but six of their children, including Estela, suffer from mental retardation. They have eight children in total. Their son, Santos, has a normal life and he works as a day laborer to help them financially. Their other son is in the United States, but he barely supports them because he already has his own family. The father, Venancio Luis Cux, works as a day laborer and farmer three days per week, and he earns Q900.00 quetzales ($120) per month. He tries to cover all the family needs, but the money is not enough. The mother, Tomasa Ruiz, only works at home because she has to look after her six special children. They have hens and pigs at home. The family attends Sovereign King Church, and they walk for 30 minutes to arrive there.

They live in their own house made of adobe with a tile roof and concrete floor. They get water from a well, and they use torches, candles and flashlights at night since they do not have electricity. The house is small and only has one room and the kitchen, so Estela and her six siblings sleep in the room, and her parents have improvised a room in the corridor; they made it with nylon so the water comes in during the rainy season.  It is a very humble family, and they are frequently in need of corn, groceries, and clothes; they also need beds. The feeding program is one hour away from their house. We thank you in advance for reading Estela’s information. May God bless you!

Sincerely yours

Estela Luis Ruiz

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary/Antigua