My Story

Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world.  It is a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa.  Cuatro Caminos is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops.  The Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak an Indian dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common.  Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello! My name is Paulo Samuel Garcia Perez, and I feel so happy to greet you today. I hope you are blessed alongside your family. This time I would like you to know mine. Well, let´s start with my parents. They are Cristobal Garcia de la Cruz and Rosa Marina Perez Alquejay de Garcia. They love and care for us so much. Fortunately, they are both fine. My mother is a housewife, while my father earns a living by working in an auto repair shop. I have 4 brothers and no sisters. We have needs like food, shoes and clothes.

We own a house and share it with my paternal grandmother. The house is made of tin sheet roof and walls and cemented floor. It has two rooms and one kitchen with electricity service that my father pays monthly. We get the water from a nearby river through a hose. Our domestic animals are chickens and one dog. The Methodist church is where we faithfully attend.

About me, well, I was born in Chimaltenango on November 6, 2018. I am 7 years old, and my favorite color is green. I go to school and I am in the 1^st grade. In my free time, I enjoy playing soccer. I am a healthy boy. My favorite animal is the pigeon, and my favorite dish is hamburger. I like attending the feeding program and my oldest brother is usually the one who takes us. We normally walk for 35 minutes to the program. I feel very blessed to have this blessing and so does my family. Thank you so much for helping others like you are doing with me. I send you many kisses and hugs and my best wishes to your family and you.

Yours truly,

Paulo Samuel Garcia Perez

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua