My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. Both Quiche Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry) inhabit the village. The prevalent language is Spanish. Families in this village live in one or two room homes usually constructed of either wood or adobe. Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small and specialized stores, a body repair shop for buses, mechanics, plumbers, and many other small-town tradesmen. It also has a large open-air market which serves much of the area. Even with all of this, the poverty level is extremely high, and the children are very needy.

Hello! My name is Vilma Carina Garcia Ruiz, and it is a pleasure to share a little about my life with you. I was born on May 31, 2019, so I am 5 years old. I am in pre-kinder, and my favorite pastimes are playing with dolls and pretending to cook with my toys. I like domestic animals, but my favorite one is the hen. My favorite color is pink and I love eating soup and chicken. I live with my mother and my siblings. I have one brother and three sisters. My mom, Gregoria Garcia Ruiz, is the one who supports our family economically. She works as a domestic employee in our village. As for my biological father, let me tell you that he abandoned my mom when he found out she was pregnant with me. That is why I only have the last name of my mother. 

We trust in God and attend a Christian Church. We live with one of my aunts and her children in a borrowed house that belongs to one of my uncles. He also shares the electricity with us, so we help him to cover that bill. The house is made of tin sheets with dirt floors. It has one room and a separate kitchen. We do not have running water at home, so we buy the vital liquid from a water truck every 15 days. We are a needy family and most of our needs are groceries. We wish to have our own house, so we pray to make it come true someday. Therefore, I beg you to join us in prayer. In advance, thank you so much! I am so happy to be part of the feeding program because it blesses me so much with food. This project is a one-hour walk from where I live. I will leave you now, but I want you to know that my mom helped me to give all this information to a teacher of the LW evangelism team. I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Lots of love,

Vilma Carina Garcia Ruiz

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary