My Story

Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  Life is this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world.  It is a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa.  Cuatro Caminos is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops.  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 Olga Marina Morente Gomez. I was born on November 1, 2014 and I am seven years old. I attend the Cuatro Caminos feeding program. I am a healthy girl. I have four sisters. I am not attending school yet. My favorite colors are: pink and green. My favorite animal is the cat. I love to eat fried chicken. I like to spend my time playing toy dishes and dolls. My mother´s name is Marta Morente Gomez. She is a housewife and takes care of us. Unfortunately, my biological father abandoned us before I was born, and he did not legally recognize me.  He does not have communication with us, and he does not help us economically. My older sister Manuela supports us economically. She works picking and cleaning vegetables in Chimaltenango. She always sends us money to cover the home expenses. We live in my grandmother´s house. The house is made of adobe, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have two rooms including the kitchen. We do not have electricity, so we use candles. We do not have running water. We carry water from the river to cook and to wash the clothes. My sister and I walk thirty minutes to attend the feeding program. We attend Methodist Church.

Many blessings,

Olga Marina Morente Gomez

Translated by: Esther Hernández, AAC Secretary/Antigua