My Story

PA1932

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 Israel Elias Ildefonso Quino.  I was born on February 8, 2013 and I am six years old.  I am in good health and I attend the Pasojoc feeding program.  My parents separated several years ago.  My father’s name is Gregorio and he is on the coast.  He sends us a little money for our household expenses, but it is not very much.  My mother’s name is Maria and she is a housewife. Some of my older siblings work in order to help my mother with the household expenses. One travels to the coast to work in the coffee harvest. The other works by tending a grocery store in another town far away from here.  We own the house in which we live.  The house has two rooms and a separate kitchen. One room is adobe and the other is wood.  The house has a tin roof and a dirt floor.  We do not have electricity or running water.  We get our water from the river with a hose.  My whole family goes to the coast to work for three months at the end of each year during the coffee harvest.  My family has a few domestic animals: chickens, 1 goat and a dog.  I have 7 brothers and 2 sisters.  I walk to the feeding program with one of my sisters.  I am repeating kindergarten this year, and when I am not in school, I like to play tag with my siblings.  My favorite color is green, and my favorite animal is the rabbit.  The foods that I like to eat the most are apples and rice with beans.  My family attends an Evangelical Church. 

With much love and many blessings,

Israel Elias Ildefonso Quino

Translated by: Edwina Lyons/AAC Missionary