My Story

Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Cuatro Caminos is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiche Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello! How are you? I am writing this letter to tell you about me. I am Olga Yolanda Benito Ajqui, and I am 6 years old. I was born on May 22, 2018. I am in good health, and I do not attend school yet due to my age. My personal tastes are fried chicken, the color pink, and cats. I love playing dolls in my free time. I attend Assembly of God Church with my family. I have two brothers and one sister who is registered at the feeding program too. My parents’ names are Mynor Alfonso Benito Portuguez and Marta Ajqui Gomez; they are in good health. My father works as a mason helper and goes to pick coffee beans at the coast at the end of the year. My mother is a housewife, and she sometimes sells her hens or pigs to improve the income.

We live in a house that belongs to my mom, and it has two rooms and a kitchen. The house is made of adobe and wood with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We buy candles to use at night and we get the water from a stream. We have domestic animals at home. I have to walk for 40 minutes to arrive at the feeding program, and my mother accompanies me on my way there. I would like to ask for your prayers for us since we are always in need of groceries. In this occasion, my grandmother Nazaria, helped me to give my personal information to an Evangelism teacher. I thank you for taking the time to read my letter. May God bless you!

Sincerely yours

Olga Yolanda Benito Ajqui

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua Guatemala