My Story

Chuchuca, 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 more than a two-hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Chuchuca is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak an Indian 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, I fondly greet you through this letter hoping you are well. In this opportunity, I want to share a little bit about my family and me. My name is Estela Simaj Cux. I was born on January 23rd, 2013. I am very happy to be part of the school. This year is my first year there and I am in 1st grade. Before now, I did not have the desire to attend school, but now and I am very happy about it. In my free time, I love to play soccer. My favorite color is red and I love roosters. My favorite food is “Caldo de quiletes” (This soup is made with quilete or hierba mora which is a wild and nutritious herb. People season it with salt, tomato, and onion.).

I want to introduce my family. Sadly, my father passed away years ago. His name is Jose Simaj Garcia. I live with my mother, three brothers and two sisters. My mother´s name is Rosa Cux De La Cruz. She works as a day laborer and farmer, and she does chores at home too. My mother works hard to cover our expenses and she does any type of work she can find to earn some money to cover our needs. We are very thankful with God because my two little sisters, Candelaria and Juana, are enrolled in a government program and each of them receives 250.00Q = $32.43 per month which is a great blessing for us. By the grace of God, we are in good health. We are members of the Catholic Church; we attend on Mondays. We live in our own house. The house has one room, and it is made of adobe and stick walls, tin sheet roof and dirt floor.  We have a separate kitchen which is made of wooden board walls, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have running water and we pay it once a year.  We don´t have electricity but we use a solar panel for light. At home we raise some hens, turkeys and pigs. We are a humble and needy family, and some of these needs are groceries, clothes and shoes. We are very thankful with God because three of us are enrolled in the feeding program and it is a great blessing for us as a family. We walking 45 minutes to get there. Thank you very much for reading my little history. I am sending many blessings.

With hugs and blessings,

Estela Simaj Cux

Translated by: Magnolia De Torres / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala