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! I feel blessed to share a little bit about my life with you. Before starting, I thank you so much for taking the time to read this information. I am Estefany Elida Gomez Gutierrez and I was born on November 3, 2020. Because of my young age, I still do not attend school. I love having eggs for my meals and my favorite pastime is playing with dolls. I like cats and my favorite color is pink. I live with my parents and three brothers. I have no sisters. We are members of a Christian Church called Jesucristo es el Fundamento (Jesus Christ is the Basis). My father is Ignacio Gomez Riz, and he works hard as a mason’s assistant. My mother is Maria Gutierrez Chingo, and she keeps busy doing the chores and taking care of my brothers and me. She had two gallbladder surgeries this year. Moreover, she caught a digestive infection, but she is keeping well thanks to the treatment that she has.

We own a house, but my mother cannot live there due to her health situation. Therefore, we live in a rented house at the moment. My father pays Q600=$78.69 for rent monthly. The house is made of concrete blocks with tin sheet roof and granite floors. It has two rooms, a separate kitchen, electricity, and running water. Fortunately, we have enough space at our own house, so we raise chickens for our consumption. We long to be able to build new rooms at our own house and we pray for having the resources someday. Please join us in prayer so that God helps us to make this dream come true. The feeding program is near where I live since my mother and I usually walk for 20 minutes to get there. It is time to say goodbye, but I hope to hear from you soon.

Lots of love,

Estefany Elida Gomez Gutierrez

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Guatemala