CA1688

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 Erika Alicia Rodriguez de la Cruz.  I was born on April 3, 2015 and I am four years old.  I am a healthy child.  I have one brother and he also attends the feeding program.  We walk about 30 minutes to get to the program.  My father’s name is Adelso and he is a day laborer doing whatever type of work he can find. He also travels to the coast to work cleaning weeds from the coffee plants for two or three months.  He leaves in July and returns in either September or October.  My mother’s name is Cristina and she weaves typical Zacualpa blouses.  She also has some hens that she raises and when they are grown, she sells them to earn money for our expenses.  The house in which we live belongs to my paternal grandmother but we do not have to pay rent.  The house is made of wood with a nylon roof and a dirt floor.  It has one room where we cook and sleep.  We do not have electricity or water.  We use candles for lighting and we get carry our water in jars from a creek. I am not in school yet, so I spend my time playing with my dolls.  My favorite color is orange and my favorite animals are hens.  The foods that I like best are apples, bananas and fried chicken.  My family attends Prince of Peace Pentecostal Church.

With much love and many blessings,

Erika Alicia Rodriguez de la Cruz

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary