My Story

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

Special regards! I am Jacinta Briceida de la Cruz Coj and it is such a blessing to share my story with you through this letter. I was born on August 1, 2019. Thankfully, I am a healthy girl and I am in kindergarten. I have a lot of fun playing with dolls as a pastime and my favorite color is red. I love having fried chicken for my meals and my favorite animals are kitties. I live about a 40-minute walk from the feeding program. I usually go there alongside two sisters who are already enrolled there. I have one brother and three sisters in total. My mother accompanies us. Her name is Rogelia de la Cruz Coj and she is doing well. She is a housewife and sometimes washes clothes for other people to contribute to the expenses.

My father is the main supporter of our family. His name is Camilo Barrera Simaj and he is a day laborer in our village. He also travels to the coast every six months to cut coffee beans for three months. Please pray for him so that God helps him to find a stable job that allows him to cover all our needs, especially groceries and corn. We live in our own-three room house with a separate kitchen. It is made of adobe with tin sheet roof and concrete floors. We have solar panels at home and get water from a nearby spring by using plastic vessels. To end this letter, I want you to know that we attend a Christian Church. If you want to hear something else about my life, feel free to ask me. Until next time!

With many blessings,

Jacinta Briceida de la Cruz Coj

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Guatemala