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, tin sheets 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. 

This is Any Isabel Flores Hernandez, and I want to tell you a little about me; my stepfather helped me with this letter. I was born on May 29, 2016, so I am 9 years old. I am in good health, and I am attending 2^nd grade this year. In my free time, I jump rope and play dolls, memory game and jacks. I like cats, and my favorite color is pink. I really love eating fried chicken. I have one cat and one dog as pets. I have three brothers, and two of them are also registered at the feeding program. We walk for 20 minutes to arrive at the program. At the moment, we are not attending a church.

My father’s name is Reynaldo Flores, and this is all that I know about him. My mother’s name is Lleimy Yanira Hernandez Urias, and she works as a street sweeper for the local municipality in order to help with the income. Ismael Efrain Perez Roque is my stepfather, and he loves and supports me in whatever I need. He lives with us and works as a car spare parts vendor. Our economic situation is not very good, so we are frequently in need of groceries. We live in my maternal grandparents’ home, and an aunt is living there too. The house has three rooms, and we only use one of them; we do not have a stove, so we cook in my grandmother’s kitchen. Our room is made of concrete block and tin sheets with a tin sheet roof and concrete floor; it is not fully completed so my parents have to buy other tin sheets. We have running water and electricity services.  Well, this is all for now.

Kisses and hugs

Any Isabel Flores Hernandez

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua