My Story

Nueva Esperanza, which means New Hope, is located in a slum area of Guatemala City, Guatemala. An extremely poor area, our program is squeezed in among the shanty dwellings built over an old city dump. Many houses in this area are without toilets or running water and are assembled with scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard. Zone 5, where Nueva Esperanza is located, is considered one of the most dangerous areas of Guatemala City. It is controlled by gangs and drug pushers. Robberies and murders are common in this area. Public education is available - however, many cannot afford it.  

Hello, my name is Genesis Abigail Morales Castañeda. It is a pleasure to be able to greet you today and tell you a little bit about myself. I hope you are well and in good health. I thank God that I am healthy. I am 5 years old now. I was born on November 24, 2019. I go to Pre-Kinder. I love playing soccer and playing with dolls. I also like to color. I want to tell you some of my favorite things. I love the color purple. My favorite animal is a dog, but I don’t have a pet dog. We only have a cat. One of my favorite foods is chow-mein. I also love going to the feeding program in Nueva Esperanza.  with my sister and brother. We have to walk to get there. It usually takes us about 30 minutes to walk there. Now, I will tell you a little about my family. I have one sister and one brother. Their names are Emili Elizabeth Morales Castañeda and Jean Carlos Ezequiel Morales Castañeda. I am the youngest child. My mom’s name is Nincy Elizabeth Castañeda Bobadilla and my dad’s name is Emilio Estuardo Morales Urías. He works in a shoe store and my mom works as a street vendor. She sells little pastries. We all live together along with my grandmother, in her house, and my aunts and uncles. My aunts and uncles help together with my parents to pay the water and lights and other utilities and essential expenses. Our house has three rooms and my family shares one of the rooms. The walls are made of cement block, and the roof is tin. We share a small kitchen with my grandmother where we can cook things. One of our biggest needs as a family are groceries. We live near a small ravine and field where we can play with other kids. We love going and spending time outside. That’s all from me for today. I hope you have enjoyed learning about my life. Thank you for reading about me. I know I don’t know you, but I pray many blessings over you. Your heart to help and love the people of Guatemala is so special to me.  

Many blessings,  

Genesis Abigail Morales Castañeda 

 Translated by: Olivia Gallardo, Missionary Intern / Antigua