My Story

Dueñas, where your child lives, is a small farming village located at the foot of one of Guatemala's active volcanoes, Fuego (Fire). The fertile ground around the village allows for the cultivation of roses and coffee, two of Guatemala's largest exports. Most of the families in this area live in one or two room wooden or adobe houses with tin roofs. Electricity is available to those who can afford it. Running water is available - however, most homes do not have indoor plumbing. Public education is available for those who can afford it and consider education of value. Life in Dueñas is quiet and sometimes difficult.

Hello! I greet you lovingly, hoping you are having a fantastic day wherever you are. My name is Heidy Nataly Francisco Cameros, and I want to share a little about my life with you. I was born on May 15, 2016. I am in first grade. After school, I have fun playing freeze tag game. I also like watching videos on the phone. My favorite animals are dogs, cats, and parakeets. I love eating chicken, rice, and avocadoes. My favorite color is pink. The people who I live with are my biological parents. I only have one brother but no sisters. He lives with our extended family in Jalapa town. My father’s name is Diego Francisco Nicolas. He works by doing whatever he can in a mechanical workshop. On the other hand, my mom does her best as a housewife. Her name is Karla Natali Cameros Alarcon. As for health, I want you to know that my mom had an accident on a motorcycle. Because of that, she has a lot of pain in her left knee. She already finished her treatment but takes calcium to strengthen her knee.

We do not attend any church at the moment. We live on the first level of a rented house. My father pays Q800=$102.09 per month. We use two rooms and prepare our meals in the hallway. The house is made of concrete block walls with concrete roof and ceramic floors. We would love to have our own piece of land. Therefore, I would love to count on your prayers to accomplish our dream in the future. Some of our needs are clothes, shoes, and food. I like meeting new children at the feeding program. I usually walk 15 minutes from where I live to get there. I will leave you now, but I want you to know that my mom helped me to give all this information to an AAC secretary. I send you many kisses and hugs and hope to hear from you someday.

From the bottom of my heart,

Heidy Nataly Francisco Cameros

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala