My Story

Tunajá is a very primitive area of the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  The inhabitants are Quiché Indians who trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  The prevalent language is the Indian dialect - Quiché.  The people are either farmers or shepherds and live off the fruits of their labors.  Very little money ever changes hands as they use a barter system. Public education is available - however, most families cannot afford it.  Electricity and running water are not available in most of the area.  Life in Tunajá is extremely difficult.

It is a wonderful day to greet you. I am glad to have this opportunity for the first time and share with you about my family and me. I am Gregoria Jimena Grave. I am 5 years old. I was born on February 1, 2019. I am the daughter of Marta Grave de la Cruz Ramos. Unfortunately, I was not legally recognized by my biological father. My mother does not live with us because she traveled to The United States one year ago. She is working there in a restaurant making tortillas. She is in touch with us and supports our necessities. Meanwhile, we stay under the care of my maternal grandmother, Gregoria de la Cruz Coj. She takes care of us and takes me to the feeding program as well. We usually walk for 20 minutes to get there.

About me, I do not attend school yet. My hobby is playing with dolls. My favorite color is pink, and I like cats. I love eating fried chicken. Thank God, my health is good. My family attends the Catholic Church. I have two brothers and just one is also enrolled at the feeding program like me. We live in our grandparents´ house. The house belongs to my grandfather. It has one room and one separate kitchen. It is made of adobe walls, tin sheet roof and cement floor. There are electricity and running water services that my grandfather pays monthly and annually. There are some domestic animals such as chickens, pigs and a cow. Our greatest necessity as a family is food. Well, this is a short history of my life. I just wanted to add that my grandmother helped me to give this information to the LW team. Thank you for reading it. I pray that you are keeping well. I send you greetings from Guatemala.

Many blessings,

Gregoria Jimena Grave

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua