My Story

Hello! This is Mariano Tzoy Simaj, and I want to tell you about my life. I was born on December 13^th, 1943, so I am now 80 years old. Sadly, my wife passed away four years ago, and since that time, I have only been living with my daughter named Ana and her children; she is a single mother of one boy and one girl. She takes care of me, washes my clothes and prepares my food. I have another daughter and her name is Rogelia. She is in the United States and sends me a little money every two months. I only had one son and his name was Pedro. Unfortunately, he passed away due to an infection in one of his feet six months ago. I am so sad because he was the only one who accompanied me to work.

I am a catholic person, and I am well and healthy. I still do chores like sowing corn, gathering firewood, shepherding my sheep and other things needed at home. I receive some money from the government every month, but it is not enough to cover all my expenses; I am frequently in need of groceries. The house where my daughter, her children and I live belongs to me, and it is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor; it has two rooms and one kitchen. We have electricity at home, and my daughter and I pay this bill every month. We do not have running water, so we have to carry it from a spring every day. The spring water is located 5 minutes away from our home, and it is on another person’s land, so we pay her Q250.00 quetzals ($33.00) per year.

I live far away from the feeding program, and I have to walk for 40 minutes to arrive there; I am happy to be part of it. There are hens and sheep at home. I hope you find my letter interesting. I say goodbye to you for now. May God bless you!

Sincerely yours

Mariano Tzoy Simaj

Written by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary/Antigua