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.

Hello, good morning! I am so happy to greet you by means of this letter. My full name is Thania Valentina Lopez Agustin and I want to share a little bit about my life with you. I was born on October 4, 2017. Luckily, I am in good health. I am in second grade and I love playing with dolls. My favorite color is pink. I like dogs, and my favorite dish is hamburgers. I live with my parents and sisters. I have two sisters, but no brothers. My father’s name is Edgar Benjamin Lopez Ordonez and he works as an electrician. My mother’s name is Michel Guadalupe Agustin de Leon and she works as a nurse at the public hospital in Joyabaj town. They work hard to support our family. At the moment, we do not attend any church. We live in a two-room house with a separate kitchen, electricity, and running water. The house belongs to my maternal grandmother. It is made of concrete blocks with tin sheet roof and ceramic floors. The feeding program is close to my house because I only walk for two minutes to get there. It is time to say goodbye, but I hope you enjoyed my information. See you later!

With much love,

Thania Valentina Lopez Agustin

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Guatemala