PT0043                                     

Pasojoc III, where your child lives, is located in an extremely remote area of the mountains in Quiche, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world.  It is a 3-hour walk to the nearest market town.  The people who inhabit the area are Quiche Indians who can trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak an Indian dialect called Quiche, however, Spanish is becoming more common.  The climate is basically warm, but it can get very cold at night.  Houses in this area are typically constructed of adobe with tin sheet or tile roofs and dirt floors.  Pasojoc III is an area rich with natural resources.  It is a farming area where the inhabitants grow staples such as corn, beans and other types of vegetables.  Many families also raise domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cows and chickens.  Many of the families travel to the coast for several months each year to find work cutting cane or coffee.  Sadly, many of the children do not go to school because of lack of economic resources and because of the sheer distance they would have to walk to reach school.  As a result, the majority of the people are unable to read or write.  Many of the teenagers leave home at an early age to search for employment in other areas in Guatemala.

Hello, my name is Waldo Agustin Garcia de la Cruz.  I was born on December 11, 2015 and I am three years old.  I am basically a healthy child.  I have two brothers and three sisters.  Four of them also attend the feeding program and we walk 1 ½ hours to get to the program.  My father’s name is Agustin and he is a farmer.  He also travels to work at the coast for three months.  My mother’s name is Herminia and she is a housewife.  We own the house in which we live.  It is one room with a separate kitchen.  The house is made of adobe with a tin roof and a dirt floor.  We grow corn, beans and green tomatoes for our own consumption.  We have water but we do not have electricity.  We use candles for lighting.  We have chickens, one pig and dogs.  I am not in school yet, so I spend my time playing with my toy cars and ball.  My favorite color is yellow and my favorite animal is the dove.  The foods that I like best are mangoes, bananas, soup and eggs.  My family attends a Catholic church.

With much love and many blessings,

Waldo Agustin Garcia de la Cruz 

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary