My Story

ZA4442

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiché Indians 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.

Hello, my name is Astrid Asucena Yat Tzoy. I was born on July 25, 2014 and I am 4 years old. I am in good health and I attend the Zacualpa feeding program. My father’s name is Victoriano Yat us and he is a barber. Unfortunately, my father had an accident about 10 years ago and never recovered all his strength, so he is not able to do any work that requires a lot of strength. Thank God, he is still able to work as a barber. My mother’s name is Marta Tzoy Morente and she is a housewife. My mother has two sons from a previous marriage, and they sometimes work in a store in order to help with the household expenses. My family does not travel to the coast to work during the coffee harvest. We rent the house in which we live. We pay Q700 (a little less than $100) each month for rent. The bottom half of the walls of the house is adobe, and the top half is plasterboard. The roof is tin, and the floor is cement. We have electricity, but we do not have running water. Our house has two rooms and a separate kitchen. The kitchen is actually a small area located outside the house and is covered with a tin roof but does not have any walls. My family does not own any domestic animals. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister, and I walk to the feeding program with siblings.  I do not go to school yet because I am still too young, so I spend my time playing with my dolls. My favorite color is yellow, and my favorite animal is the rabbit. The foods that I like to eat the most are apples and grilled chicken. My family attends a church called “New Jerusalem.”

With much love and many blessings,

Astrid Asucena Yat Tzoy

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary