My Story

Hello! I am Anderson Emanuel Ortiz Toj, and I am five years old. I have not been attending school yet because of my age, so most of the time I play games at home. I want you to know that during the time the feeding program was closed because of the pandemic, I really missed the food that the feeding program makes for us. To get to the program, we must walk for ten minutes. It is now open, and I am so happy for that! The pandemic affected my family because they could not get some work, so money was not enough to get food supplies and other stuff, and the price of food and things rose. Thanks to God, LW provided us with grocery bags during the most difficult times of the pandemic, and it was a great help for my family. Please pray for us because basic needs for my family are food supplies, clothing, shoes, blankets and bed. God bless you. My family and I are all doing well, thanks to God.

My father works as a day laborer. He travels to the coast along with my family and cuts coffee grains for three months in the beginning or in the end of the year. Thanks to the money he gets, he provides for our family expenses. My mother raises some chickens to sell; this way she provides money for our expenses too. My family and I take good advantage of the time, especially when we have dinner because during this time, we talk a little and share. On Christmas, we made tamales and prepared rice and chocolate as a hot beverage, and in this way, we had our celebration. My family and I got sad because we could not attend the Mass during the pandemic, and we could not listen to God’s Word. To get to the church, we have to walk for an hour. We own a house which has a room and a separate kitchen that is made of corn reed. The tin sheets from the roof of the kitchen are in bad condition. The room and roof are made of tin sheets, and the room has a dirt floor. We do not have running water service, so we carry it from a creek. We do not have electricity service either, so we use lanterns and candles for light at night. To finish, I want you to know that one member from LW team called us to provide updated information about me, so my mother gave it to them by phone. They did it to protect us from the virus. I have to leave for now, so I am sending you my best regards.

With so much love,

Anderson Emanuel Ortiz Toj

Translated by Febe Ruiz, AAC Secretary/Antigua