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! I am Nelson Orlando Simaj Gonzalez, and I am so happy to greet you on this beautiful day. I would like to share a little bit about me with you. I was born on August 16, 2022, in Zacualpa Quiche. I love eating eggs with black beans. I like roosters and the color red. I am a healthy 4-year-old boy. I do not attend school due to my young age. My hobby is playing soccer.

My parents are in good health too. Their names are Pedro Simaj Jimon and Maria Gonzalez Pixcar. They struggle to support our family. My father works as a day laborer while my mother is a weaver but also embroiders typical blouses. I have two brothers and no sisters. We attend the Catholic Church. Our main necessities are food, corn, clothes and shoes. My mother takes me to the feeding program, and we normally walk for 15 minutes to get there.

Unfortunately, we do not own a house. For that reason, we live with my paternal grandparents and share the house with them and some uncles. The house has three rooms and a kitchen made of tin sheet roof, adobe walls and dirt floor. We get our water from a water source that is in the property through a hose. We also have electricity and share the expense of it every month with the family. Chickens, one dog and sheep are our domestic animals. Well, this is all I have for now. I will pray to God for you and your family. I send you my love and best wishes for all.

Yours truly,

Nelson Orlando Simaj Gonzalez

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua