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! My name is Blanca Sheyla Carolyne Gomez Garcia and I am so happy to tell you a little about my life through this letter. Before doing it, I want you to know that my mother helped me to give all this information to a teacher of LW. I was born on April 5, 2019. Thankfully, I am in good health. I do not attend school yet because of my age. I have fun playing with my dolls and my favorite animals are cats. My favorite color is blue and I love eating fried chicken. I live with my maternal grandmother at her house while my mom works to support me. I know nothing about my biological father because he left my mother when she was pregnant with me. I am an only child. My mother’s name is Marta Alicia Gomez Garcia. She makes a living as a domestic employee and due to that, she must live in the house where she works. Therefore, I can only spend time with her every 15 days at home. The feeding program is near to where my mom works, so I sometimes visit her. My grandmother’s name is Maria Garcia Chitic. Fortunately, nobody in my family is sick.

We attend Ebenezer Christian Church. My grandma’s house has two rooms and a separate kitchen. The walls are made of bricks with a tin sheet roof and dirt floors. There is no electricity or running water at home. However, we get water from a nearby river and my great-grandmother provides us with electricity. My mother pays for that service every month. We raise hens and sheep at home. Some of our needs are groceries. The feeding program is a little far away from where I live. I usually walk for one hour from my house to get there. I say goodbye to you now, but I send you many kisses and hugs.

From the bottom of my heart,

Blanca Sheyla Carolyne Gomez Garcia

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala