My Story

Chixocol, where your child lives, is a very small village nestled in a mountain valley in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this state is very difficult and somewhat isolated from the outside world. Most families live in one-room adobe houses with dirt floors and a small attached kitchen. The extremely poor live in houses made of corn stalks. In the past few years electricity and water has become available to most people in the area - however, indoor plumbing is very rare. Most of the families are farmers or shepherds and live off the fruits of their labors. Public education is available for those who can afford it and consider it of value. Life in Quiché is always a challenge.

It is a wonderful day to say hello to you and I trust in God; you are doing well! I am so excited to introduce myself in this opportunity. My name is Sherly Marleny Gutierrez Ventura, and I am a 4-year-old girl. My birthdate is August 19, 2021. I live with my parents and one brother. It is a great joy in my heart that we all are in good health. David Gutierrez Simaj is my father and he provides for our family by working in a hardware store. He works from Monday to Saturday. Sandra Ester Ventura Aguilar is my mother, and she stays busy with the household work. She raises hens and pigs to sell. Furthermore, she makes crochet and cross-stitch embroidery blouses to sell.

Here you have a few things about myself. I am still not attending school because of my young age. So, I stay at home and I enjoy playing with my dolls and pretending to cook. The meal I love the most is fried chicken. I love the color purple, and the animal I like the most is the rabbit. My family and I are attending the United Pentecostal Christian Church. We do not have our own house and that is the reason that we live in my maternal grandmother´s house. There are two adobe rooms with a tin sheet roof and a cement floor. One room is used as a kitchen. We get water from an artisanal well. We have electricity service and my parents pay for it. We are a needy family so our greatest needs are groceries. I am so blessed to be enrolled in the feeding program, and I get there by walking in 6 minutes. My mom accompanies me to the program. Thank you so much for your beautiful heart for the people in Guatemala like me. May God bless you!

A bunch of hugs,

Sherly Marleny Gutierrez Ventura

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala