My Story

Hello! I am so excited for you to read my personal information. I am Maria, and I 14 years old. this year I attend 6^th grade, and I receive classes on Monday, Thursday, and Fridays. I give my homework when I go to school. For me, it is very hard to do the homework at home without my teacher´s support. I help my mother with the chores in the afternoon. During the time I could not attend the feeding program for the pandemic restrictions, I missed the food; thank God, the program is open again. I usually walk 20 minutes to get to the program. My father works as a farmer and a day laborer. Moreover, he goes to work on the coast picking coffee beans and cleaning the coffee plantations to sustain our family. My mother is a housewife and raises domestic animals for selling. In addition, she weaves typical blouses to help herself economically. Thanks to God, we are in good health.

My family and I have the custom to share some snacks and talk about how was our day in the afternoons. We attend Church of Christ and it is located about 40 minutes from home. At church we do not have the custom to celebrate Christmas and either at home. During the pandemic, the services were suspended, and we felt sad; fortunately, the services are normal now. We live in our property; we have only one room and it is made of wood, tin sheets roof and dirt floor. My mother cooks in the same room. We have running water but no electricity. The house condition is stable. Thank God, my father kept his job during the pandemic, and it did not affect us too much. We are so grateful for each product that we received in the grocery bags that Living Water delivered to us. It was very useful to cover our needs. For now, our need is clothes for my siblings and me. In closing, I want to let you know that the LW team called us and asked for this updated information, so my mother provided it to them over the phone. I hope to receive news from you soon. Many blessings!

Special regards,

Maria Garcia Mendez

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua