CA1687

Chuchuca, where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world.  It is more than a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa.  Chuchuca is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major corps.  The Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak an Indian dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common.

Hello, my name is Angel Daniel Benito Ajqui.  I was born on December 16, 2014 and I am four years old.  I am a healthy child.  I have two brothers.  One of them also attends the feeding program and we walk about an hour to get to the program.  My father’s name is Venancio and he works as a day laborer and a farmer.  He grows corn and beans for our own consumption.  He also travels to the coast to work during the coffee harvest at the end of the year.  My mother’s name is Petrona and she is a housewife.  She also has some hens that she sells when we have some need.  We do not own the house in which we live.  It belongs to my paternal grandparents and they live with us. The house has two rooms and a separate kitchen.  The house is adobe with a tin roof and a dirt floor.  We have electricity and we get our water from a nearby natural water source.  I am not in school yet so I spend my time playing with my toy cars.  My favorite color is blue and my favorite animal is the dog.  The foods that I like best are bananas, watermelon and black beans with eggs.  My family attends a Methodist church.

With much love and many blessings,

Angel Daniel Benito Ajqui

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary