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, I am happy to have the opportunity to introduce myself to you for the very first time. My name is Felipe Gabriel de la Cruz Ajqui. I would like to start by telling you about my family. Well, I come from a humble family. My father´s name is Sebastian de la Cruz and my mother´s is Angelica de la Cruz de la Cruz. My father earns a living by farming the land, cutting firewood to sell and working as a day laborer too. On the other side, my mother is a housewife and improves the incomes when needed. She raises chickens for selling. I have two brothers and two sisters. Their names are Laura, Yonel, Luisa and Cerbando. Thankfully, they are in good health. We attend the Catholic church. As a family, we have many necessities, but the main ones are corn, groceries and shoes.

About me, I am 6 years old. I was born on June 12, 2018. I attend pre-kinder at school this year. My favorite color is red, and the animal I like the most is the dog. I love eating fried chicken. Fortunately, I am a healthy girl. In my free time, I like playing soccer. My father takes me to the feeding program, and we usually walk for 45 minutes to arrive there. We do not own a house, so we live with my paternal aunt and her family. We do not pay any rent. The house has two rooms and a kitchen made of adobe, tile roof and dirt floors. My paternal uncle shares water with us. There is electricity at home. Both service payments are shared with my aunt and parents. Our domestic animals are sheep, chickens, turkeys and a pig. Well, I told you a little bit. Thank you for your interest in knowing about me. I hope to write to you soon. Lastly, let me tell you that my father gave all this information to the LW team. Take care!

Many blessings,

Felipe Gabriel de la Cruz Ajqui

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua