My Story

Jocotenango, where your child lives, is in the state of Sacatepequez, Guatemala, and is a suburb of Antigua. It is an urban environment inhabited by both Quiche Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). Most of the children attend school, but financial hardship affects many families and forces most of the children to leave after the sixth grade. Only one out of ten children finish high school. Children in this area face temptations from gangs and drugs.

My name is Fabiola Andres Perez, and I am the mother of Maycol Alexander Sanchez Andres. He is a healthy boy who was born on February 3rd, 2019, in Antigua Guatemala. He is still young, and because of that, he is not enrolled at school yet. So, he enjoys running, jumping, and playing during his spare time. His favorite animals are dogs. He likes the color red and loves eating fried chicken. He has eight sisters. My children and I have the support of my husband who is his father. His name is Urbano Ovidio Sanchez Gomez. He is a responsible man who works as a mason’s helper in different places in Sacatepequez to cover our family’s necessities. I also work by selling homemade snacks like warm corn, chuchitos, and others in the street to help my husband with the expenses. We have a lovely dog and chicks at home. Thankfully, all of us are healthy too. We do not attend church yet. We live in a rented house; the walls are made of concrete blocks and tin sheets, roof of tin sheets too, and floors of cement. It has three rooms and a separate kitchen. My husband and some of my older daughters pay Q1000.00 quetzals=$127.40 dollars monthly, and besides that amount, they pay for the electricity and running water services. The feeding program has been a great help for my children because our family economy is facing some trouble. Maycol and his sisters walk for 30 minutes from our home to be in the program. I leave you now, but if you want to know something else about my son, feel free to ask us.

From the bottom of my heart,

Fabiola Andres Perez

Maycol Sanchez’s mother

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary/Antigua