My Story

Jocotenango, where your child lives, is in the state of Sacatepéquez, Guatemala and is a suburb of Antigua. It is an urban environment and is inhabited by both Quiché Indians 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.

Hello! I am Samara Camila Bala Otzoy. My birthdate is April 27^th of 2017, which makes me 7 years of age now. This year I attend 1^st grade at school. I love cats and my favorite color is purple. The meal I love is stew. I enjoy coloring in my free time. I live happily with my father and mother; I have 4 brothers and 4 sisters. Fortunately, we all are in good health. My father´s name is Bonifacio Bala Sajmolo. He works as a trash truck collector from the municipality, and he works around our village; he sustains us economically. My mother´s name is Juana Otoy Son de De Bala. She stays busy with the chores and taking care of my siblings and me. We have a dog as a pet.

We attend Jesus the Good Shepherd Church. I want you to pray for my family and our daily provision. I feel so happy to have the opportunity to be registered in the feeding program; I walk about 25 minutes to arrive to the program. The house in which we live is rented and my parents pay Q600.00 = $80.00 monthly; my older siblings help my parents to pay for it. There are three rooms; we use two as a bedroom and the other room as a kitchen. The house is made of tin sheets, walls and roof, and a dirt floor. There are running water and electricity services; my parents pay for those services at the corresponding office. This is all for now. May God bless you abundantly!

Kisses and hugs,

Samara Camila Bala Otzoy

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