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. Life in Zone 5 is very difficult. It is an extremely dangerous area where criminals, prostitutes and drug addicts live. 

Hello! I feel so happy to be able to write this letter. I hope you like it. This is Yasner Alexander Xajap Alvarez. I was born on May 11, 2020. I am 5 years old now. I attend school in Pre-kindergarten. In my spare time, I enjoy playing soccer, toy cars, Legos and painting. I love the color blue and my favorite animal is the duck. I like to eat rice, beans, spaghetti and mayonnaise. I live only with my mother and my sister Itzayana who also attends the feeding program. My mother is Claudia Elizabeth Alvarez Toledo. She makes an effort to support our family working in customer service in a shoe store. My father is Jorge Xajap Gomez, but he abandoned our family many years ago. He does not keep in touch with us nor help us in any way. Thanks to God, my family is well. We attend the Catholic Church.

We live in a rented house made of block, tin sheet roof and concrete floor. There are six rooms but we only use two of them because we share the house with my grandmother and some relatives. We have a separate kitchen, running water and electricity. My family pays for rent monthly Q. 700.00 ($ 94.00). Our greatest needs are groceries, clothes, shoes and school supplies. We have a chicken, a cat and a dog at home. We walk about 15 minutes from home to the feeding program. I say farewell until the next time.

Many blessings,

Yasner Alexander Xajap Alvarez

Translated by: Lucia Gravez