My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiché Indians and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). The prevalent language is Spanish.  Families in this village live in one or two room homes generally constructed of either wood or adobe.  Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small specialized stores, a body repair shop for buses, mechanics, plumbers and many other small town tradesmen. It also has a large open air market which serves much of the area. Even with all of this, the poverty level is very high and the children are very needy.

Hello, my name is Francisco Garcia Mendez. I was born on October 18, 2009, and I am 12 years old. I am a healthy boy, and I am in second grade this year; I go to bring my study guides and deliver my homework to school every Monday. I play soccer and go out to walk in my free time. I love black, and I like dogs. My favorite food is fried chicken. I have three brothers and five sisters. I live about 10 minutes away from the feeding program. We are members of Prince of Peace Church, and we attend it on Thursday and Sunday.

My father’s name is Carlos Garcia Lopez, but he no longer lives with us since six years ago. He already has another family, so we do not have any type of communication with him, and he does not contribute with our expenses. My oldest brother is the one who is covering all our needs; he works in a tile factory the whole week. My mother’s name is Martina Mendez Luis, and she is a housewife; she raises and sells hens and turkeys to help with the home income. We also have dogs and ducks as pets. The house where we live belongs to my father, and it has two rooms and one kitchen; it is made of bricks with a tile roof and concrete floor. We have running water, but we use candles at night. This is my personal information, and I hope you can find it interesting.

With much love 

Francisco Garcia Mendez

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio/AAC Secretary, Antigua