My Story

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

Hello! It is a pleasure to greet you from Guatemala. My name is Federico Alvarez Jimon. I would like to introduce myself to you for the very first time. I was born on February 14, 2019. I am a 5-year-old healthy boy. My favorite color is blue, and I am a preschool student. I like dogs. My favorite dishes are noodles and eggs. About my family, my father´s name is Federico Emiliano Alvarez Jimon. He is a farmer, but also works as a day laborer 3 or 4 days a week. My mother´s name is Santos Jimon Ajqui. She takes care of us and the house. She also collaborates with the incomes by going to work as a day laborer with my father. I have two brothers and two sisters. We attend the feeding program with my mom. We walk for an hour and then take the bus for 20 minutes more to arrive at the program. My family attends the Catholic Church. Some of our needs are clothes and groceries. Thankfully, my family enjoys good health.

My mother has a house of her own that she shares with her parents. It is a three-room house with a separate kitchen made of adobe and block walls, tin sheet and tile roof and cemented floor. There is electricity that my parents pay monthly. We get running water from a natural water source that belongs to our neighbor which is 3 or 5 minutes away from home. We transport the water in plastic jars to our house. My parents do not pay anything; they just help with the maintenance. We have some chickens as domestic animals. Well, this is my short story. Lastly, I would like to add that my mother gave all this information to the LW team to share with you. Thank you so much for taking the time to read it, and most of all for your interest in knowing about me. I bless you in the name of Jesus.

With much love,

Federico Emiliano Alvarez Jimon

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua