PA1926

Pasojoc is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world.  It is more than a two-hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa.  Pasojoc is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major corps.  The Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak an Indian dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common.  Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello, my name is Maria Magdalena Ortiz Toj.  I was born on February 21, 2014 and I am five years old.  I am in good health and I attend the Pasojoc feeding program.  My father’s name is Noe and he is a farmer and a day laborer.  My mother’s name is Magdalena and she is a housewife.  She also takes care of my grandparents’ sheep.  My family travels to the coast for three months at the end of the year to work in the coffee harvest. We live with my grandparents, so sometimes when my parents travel to the coast, I stay with my grandparents.  Our house has 2 rooms.  My family lives in one room and my grandparents live in the other.  The house is made of cement block with a tin roof and dirt floor.  We do not have electricity or running water.  We use candles for light, and we get our water from a nearby creek with a water hose.  I have 2 brothers and 1 sister.  My grandmother takes me to the feeding program when my mother cannot.  I do not go to school yet because I am still too small, so I spend my time playing with my dolls. My favorite color is red, and my favorite animal is the duck.  The foods that I like to eat the most are watermelon and soup.  My family attends a catholic church.

With much love and many blessings,

Maria Magdalena Ortiz Toj

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary