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 small-town 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 very excited to share my information through this. My name is Juan Carlos Garcia Luis. I was born on May 31th, 2018, in Zacualpa, Quiche, Guatemala. I am 6 years old and I am a healthy boy. I am in the first grade. I like to play hide-and-seek with my siblings. My favorite color is green and my favorite animal is the dog. I like to eat rice with black beans. I have four brothers and three sisters. I attend the Zacualpa feeding program and I get there in 30 minutes by walking.

My father´s name is Ramiro Garcia Simaj. He works as a farmer and digging sand from the river alongside other people. My mother´s name is Marta Ofelia Luis Gutierrez. She does the housework, raises hens and pigs and takes care of my siblings and me. Thankfully, my family is in good health. The house in which we live belongs to my sister´s husband and we share the house with uncles and cousins. There are three rooms made of adobe and tin sheets, the roof is made of tin sheets and it has a dirt floor. The kitchen is separate and is made of tin sheets. We have running water and electricity services and my parents take turns paying the bills. For now, we do not attend any church. Our greatest needs are corn and groceries. I hope you enjoy reading my letter. Many and abundant blessings over your life!

Lots of love,

Juan Carlos Garcia Luis

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez, AAC Secretary / Antigua