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 in 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 Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan 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! I am so glad to share with you something about me. My name is Sandra Gricelda Barrera Morente. I am 4 years old since I was born on March 21^st, 2019; thankfully, I am in good health condition. I am not attending school yet due to my age, but I hope to do it in the future. I love the color pink; my favorite animal is the cat and the food I enjoy eating is fried chicken. At home, I spend my time playing with my dolls. My father, Jeremias Barrera Morente, covers our needs by working very hard as a farmer at the coast. He basically lives there; he calls us every week and comes to visit us and gives my mother money for our expenses every month. My mother’s name is Juana Morente Ruiz; she takes care of me; she also improves our incomes by selling herbes and planting corn. As a family, we go to the coast together with our father for the coffee harvest season to work for 45 days to earn extra money. I do not have siblings yet.

We live in my maternal grandparents’ house, and it is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. It has a separate kitchen and two rooms, and we use one. We do not have running water nor our own electricity, so we carry water from a river every day. We get the electricity from a church through a cable, and my parents help to pay the bill. At home, we have some cows. We are members of a methodist Church. Since we do not have a house, we pray for God to give us the opportunity and resources to have ours. I feel so blessed to be part of the feeding program; I walk 30 minutes to arrive, and I want you to know that my mother came to give all my personal information for my enrollment. I say goodbye to you for now, and I hope you find my letter interesting.

Many blessings,

Sandra Gricelda Barrera Morente

Translated by: Luisa Reyes /A-A-C Secretary/ Guatemala