My Story

PENDING PHOTO 2022

Hello! Thank you very much for taking time to read my information. I am Efrain Riz Toj, and I am 16 years old. This year, I no longer attend school, but last year I passed 6^th grade. Currently, I go to work alongside my father in a bakery in Zacualpa; I contribute with the expenses. The feeding program was closed during the pandemic, and I missed the meals, but thank God, the program is open again. I walk about 30 minutes to get to the program. My father works in a bakery in Zacualpa and comes home three times per week; he is responsible for our home needs. My mother does the chores at home, raises hens and takes out herding her sheep. We are healthy, thanks to God.

My family and I take time to visit another village called Joyabaj, and we enjoy the trip. We celebrate Christmas at church with a special service, and then, we share a cup of coffee and bread. We attend Methodist Church, and we walk 10 minutes to get there; my father is a worker at church. During the pandemic, we did not have services and we felt sad for it. Thank God, we have normal services now. We live in my grandparents’ house, and we share the expenses with my grandma. We have 2 rooms, and a separate kitchen; those are made of adobe, tile roof and dirt floor. The house has water and electricity services. The roof is old, and we need to repair it soon. At home, our priority needs are corn, rice and black beans. This pandemic has affected us in the economic area because most of the products increased in cost, and my father does not earn very much. My family and I are grateful to Living Water because they were blessing us with food parcels; it was a great help for us. In closing, I want to let you know that the LW team called us and asked for this updated information, so my mother provided it to them over the phone. I say goodbye to you for now, and I hope to hear from you soon. Many blessings!

Lots of hugs,

Efrain Riz Toj

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua