My Story

Nueva Esperanza, which means New Hope, is located in a slum area of Guatemala City, Guatemala. An extremely poor area, our program is squeezed in among the shanty dwellings built over an old city dump. Many houses in this area are without toilets or running water and are assembled with scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard. Zone 5, where Nueva Esperanza is located, is considered one of the most dangerous areas of Guatemala City. It is controlled by gangs and drug pushers. Robberies and murders are common in this area. Public education is available - however, many cannot afford it. Life in Zone 5 is very difficult. It is an extremely dangerous area where criminals, prostitutes and drug addicts live.  

Hello! It is a great blessing to share a little about me with you. I hope that when you receive my letter, you are fine. I am Yordi Misael Garcia Mancilla. I was born on October 18, 2017. I am now 7 years old. I am a first-grade student. The things that I like the most in my free time are playing toy cars, memory games and watching TV. I love blue and I like giraffes. My favorite foods are chicken and a typical Guatemalan dish called “Hilachas”. I suffer from speech problems. I do not received therapy due to our low resources.  However, I have improved a lot now that I am interacting with more children at school. About my family: I live with my grandmother Roberta because my mother Elvira Mancilla left to go to the United States two years ago in order to find better opportunities there. She works as a maid. Now, she keeps in touch with us and sends money every two months. My father has never been present in my life and I do not know anything about him. My family attends a church called “Refugio de la Oveja” (Sheep's Refuge).

We live in our grandmother´s house, and it is made of block, tin sheet roof and concrete floor, and we have running water and electricity. My grandmother pays the services. There are four rooms but we use only one and we share the kitchen with our relatives. I have one dog at home. Our greatest needs are groceries, shoes and school uniform. The feeding program is 20 minutes walking from my home. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter I hope you like it.

God bless you!

Yordi Misael Garcia Mancilla

Translated by: Lucia Gravez