My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley.  The village is inhabited by both Quiché Indians 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 smalltown 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 am Angel Baldemar Alvarez Jimon. I feel so happy to greet you for the first time. I cannot wait to start telling you about me. Well, I am a healthy boy. I am 3 years old. I was born on April 2, 2021. I am too young to attend school. My favorite color is light blue. I like rabbits. I love eating beef broth and egg cake. I like attending the feeding program with my mom and siblings. We walk for one hour and then take the bus for twenty minutes to arrive the program.

About my family, Vitalino Alvarez Ajqui is my father. He works as a day laborer and a farmer 3 or 4 days a week. My mother´s name is Santos Jimon Ajqui. She is a housewife, but also helps my father by going with him to work as a day laborer. I have two brothers and two sisters. As a family, we have many needs, but the main ones are food and clothes. We are members of the Catholic Church. Fortunately, they are all in good health. We feel grateful to have our own house. It belongs to my mother, and she shares it with my grandparents. It is a four-room house with a separate kitchen. It is made of adobe and block walls, tin sheet and tile roof and cemented floor. My neighbor lets us get the water from a natural water source that he has in his property. My parents do not pay anything; they just help with the maintenance. We carry the water through plastic jars. The water birth is 3 to 5 minutes away from home. There is electricity that my parents pay for every month.. As a domestic animal, we raise some chickens. Well, this is all for now. I say goodbye but not before telling you that my mother gave all this information to you. Thank you so much for your love. I send you all kinds of blessings to your life and family. Take care!

With love,

Angel Baldemar Alvarez Jimon

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua