My Story

NE2721

Nueva Esperanza, which means New Hope, is located in a slum area of Guatemala City, Guatemala.  An extremely poor area, our program is squeezed in among the shanty dwellings built over an old city dump.  Many houses in this area are without toilets or running water and are assembled with scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard.  Zone 5, where Nueva Esperanza is located, is considered one of the most dangerous areas of Guatemala City.  It is controlled by gangs and drug pushers.  Robberies and murders are common in this area.  Public education is available - however, many cannot afford it.  Life in Zone 5 is very difficult. This child lives on top of an old rubbish dump in Zone 5 of Guatemala City.  It is an extremely dangerous area where criminals, prostitutes and drug addicts live. Hello! My name is Yasmin Sofia, and it is a pleasure for me to write this letter for you. I was born in Guatemala City on June 15^th, 2014, and nowadays, I am seven years old and I am in first grade. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer, hide and seek and tag. My favorite color is purple, and my favorite animal is the elephant. I like all kinds of food, but I love eating black beans with rice. I live together with my family in a place called “La Palmita” located in Zone 5.

My mother’s name is Yasmin Alvarez. She struggles every day to support our family expenses. She works selling homemade snacks such as breads with egg, black beans and other items. While she works, my grandma takes care of my siblings and me. My biological father’s name is Belki Garcia, but he does not live with us. In fact, I only have my mother’s last name because when I was born, he could not recognize me legally. He used to help us economically, but he stopped about six months ago. I only know that he works carrying packages or other things in a small company. We own a small house which is a little bit deteriorated. It has a bedroom and kitchen. Our home is made out of adobe, metal sheet roof and concrete floor with running water and electricity. Fortunately, the feeding program is about 10 minutes from our house. My family and I attend Restauration Church. I am very grateful to our Lord because we are all in good health. Finally, let me tell you that my mother assisted a member of the Evangelism team to get information about me, since the staff want to protect us from the current virus. I leave you for now, but I hope to hear about you soon. See you!

Sending you huge hugs,

Yasmin Sofia Alvarez Yoque

Translated by Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary