My Story

Nueva Esperanza, which means New Hope, is located in a slum area of Guatemala City, Guatemala.  An extremely poor area, our program is squeezed in among the shanty dwellings built over an old city dump.  Many houses in this area are without toilets or running water and are assembled with scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard.  Zone 5, where Nueva Esperanza is located, is considered one of the most dangerous areas of Guatemala City.  It is controlled by gangs and drug pushers.  Robberies and murders are common in this area.  Public education is available - however, many cannot afford it.  Life in Zone 5 is very difficult. This child lives on top of an old rubbish dump in Zone 5 of Guatemala City.  It is an extremely dangerous area where criminals, prostitutes and drug addicts live.

Now, I am going to tell you some personal information about my life. My name is Jefferson Elian Aparicio Jacobo and I was born on October 27, 2015 in Guatemala City. I live in Zone 5 with my parents Jefferson and Odra and two sisters. My sisters are registered in the feeding program. I am in kindergarten at school and my favorite color is blue. I like cats and my favorite dish is fried chicken. I am in good health. In my free time, I enjoy playing toy cars, football and running. My whole family attends God´s Family Church. My father earns a living by working as an assistant in a bank while my mother takes care of us and the house. Fortunately, we own a house that is made of block walls, tin sheet roof and a cement floor. There are three room 3 meters long and 3.75 meters wide. There is running water and electricity. We have a stove to cook in one room, as well as a pila, bathroom and some chairs as our living room. The others are bedrooms. We enjoy going to the feeding program, and we usually walk 15 minutes to arrive there. However, we are not attending now since it is closed due to the pandemic. Thank you very much for taking time to read this information. I send you many hugs from the distance.

Kind rewards,

Jefferson Elian Aparicio Jocobo

Translated by: Mireya Barahona de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua