My Story

Pasojoc 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.  Pasojoc 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.  Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello, my name is Cecilia Griceyda Ruiz Saquic. I was born on March 9, 2017, and I am 4 years old. I am a healthy girl, and I do not attend school yet due to my age. I love playing with my dolls at home. I love pink, and my favorite animals are cats and chickens. I like all kinds of food. I have two brothers and one sister. I live about ten minutes away from the feeding program, and my brother, Ivan, accompanies me there; he is also part of the program. We are attending Source of Life Church. Thank God, my family and I are in good health.

My father’s name is Ismael Ruiz Garcia, and he works as a farmer and day laborer; he also goes to pick coffee beans at the coast for one month when it is the harvest season. My mother’s name is Tomasa Saquic Morales, and she is a housewife; she raises some hens for selling and contributing with the home income. We do not own a house, so we live with my paternal grandparents and share the home expenses with them. The house has two rooms and one kitchen, and they are made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have electricity and running water. This is my personal information, and I hope you can find it interesting.

With much love

Cecilia Griceyda Ruiz Saquic

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio/AAC Secretary, Antigua