My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiche Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). The prevalent language is Spanish. Families in this village live in one or two room homes generally constructed of either wood or adobe. Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small specialized stores, a body repair shop for buses, mechanics, plumbers and many other small-town tradesmen. It also has a large open-air market which serves much of the area. Even with all of this, the poverty level is very high and the children are very needy.

Kind regards! This is Brithany Briceida Nohemi Garcia Ajqui and it is such a blessing to share my story with you through this letter. I was born on November 12, 2022. I am a healthy girl and because of my young age, I still do not attend school. My favorite hobby is playing with dolls and pretending to cook with plastic food. I love having “pollo en arroz” (it is a dish prepared with chicken, rice, and tomato sauce). I like cats and my favorite color is sky-blue. I have a lovely family and we all together attend the Pentecostal United Church. My father’s name is Fernando Garcia Gomez. He makes a living as a tuk-tuk taxi driver. My mother’s name is Maria Isabela Ajqui Mendez. She works as a cook in a place where they sell typical food.

They do their best to cover our needs, like the house rent. They pay Q400=$52.48 for rent monthly. It is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. It has four rooms, a separate kitchen, a well, and electricity. We have a cat and a dog at home as pets. Some of our greatest needs are groceries, clothes, and shoes. Therefore, I kindly ask you to pray for us. I am so happy because I can also enjoy delicious meals at the feeding program as my older siblings do. I have one brother and one sister enrolled there. We usually walk for about 25 minutes to get there from where we live. To end this letter, I send you all my best wishes. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

From the bottom of my heart,

Brithany Briceida Nohemi Garcia Ajqui

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Guatemala