My Story

Chuchuca, 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 more than a two-hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Chuchuca 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! My name is Niguen Rich Tol Benito. My birthdate is September 25, 2011, which makes me 12 years of age now. This year I am repeating 1^st grade at school. I like the color blue, and my favorite animal is the Quetzal, the Guatemalan national bird. I love eating egg omelets. I like to help my mother with some chores. I have one brother and one sister. Thankfully, my family and I are in good health. My father’s name is Tomas Tol Pol. He does farm work, and now, he is working on a coffee farm on the coast. He pulls out the grown weeds and fertilizes the coffee plants, and he also picks the coffee beans during the harvest season. He comes to visit us every two months and leaves us money to supply the home needs. My mother’s name is Juana Benito Hernandez. She is a housewife, but sometimes, she goes to work as a day laborer to get some money and contribute to the expenses.

We attend Pentecostal Prince of Peace Church. Fortunately, my mother owns the house in which we live in, and my paternal grandmother lives with us. Our room is made of adobe walls with a roof made of tin sheets and a floor that is just dirt. The kitchen is separated. There is no running water or electricity; we use candles or lamps to get light and bring water from a nearby natural spring. As a family, our most basic needs are food, and footwear. To get to the feeding program, I walk 30 minutes. This time the Living Water staff collected this information personally for the record, and my mother Juana Benito provided it. I say goodbye to you for now. Every blessing to you

Bunch of hugs,

Niguen Rich Tol Benito

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala