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 Sabina Hermelinda Sucely Tzoy Grave. I was born on March 24, 2016, and I am 5 years old. I am a healthy girl, and I am in kindergarten this year. I keep playing with my dolls in my free time. I love purple, and I like cows. My favorite foods are soups and noodles. I have three brothers and one sister. I live about two hours away from the feeding program; my oldest siblings are part of the program too and I walk there with them. We are part of a Charismatic group that belongs to the Catholic Church.

I am under the care of my parents. My father’s name is Gregorio Tzoy Quino, and he farms the land and works as a day laborer. My mother’s name is Rosario Grave Franco, and she is a housewife and raises hens and sheep. My whole family goes to pick coffee beans at the coast for two months when it is the harvest season. We live in our own two-room house made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We do not have electricity, so one of our neighbors provides this service, and we pay him for it. We use hoses to bring water from a natural spring. This is my personal information, and I hope you can find it interesting.

Blessings and hugs

Sabina Hermelinda Sucely Tzoy Grave

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio/AAC Secretary, Antigua