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 greet you and introduce myself through this means! My name is Eduard Adrian Jervin Tiniguar Chitic. I was born on April 15, 2021. I live with my parents, eleven brothers and two sisters. As for health, well, we are doing well, but my father suffers from gastritis. He is not taking any medicines for it. My father´s name is Juan Tiniguar Panjoj. He does farm and day labor work in our village. My mother´s name is Natalia Chitic Tum. She mostly stays busy with the household work, raises hens and watches over my siblings and me.

Now, I will share a few things about me. I am in Pre-Kindergarten at school this year. I love the color brown, and the animal I like the most is the cow. I love eating fried chicken. I usually like to play with my toy cars. We are members of the Pentecostal Sovereign King Church. Thank God, my parents own the house in which we live. The walls are made of adobe, the floor is dirt, and we have a metal roof. We have a separate kitchen. We have running water and electricity services; my father usually pays for them. The water is paid once a year, and the electricity is paid monthly. As a family our greatest needs are groceries. It is a great blessing for me to be enrolled in the feeding program, although I have to walk for three hours to arrive. I attend alongside my siblings, and sometimes, we take a tuk-tuk and pay Q40.00 = $6.00. I say goodbye to you for now and I would like to hear from you very soon. Every kind of blessing over you!

With all my love,

Eduard Adrian Jervin Tiniguar Chitic

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