My Story

This Gladis Paola, and I am excited to share a little bit about my life with you. I live with my parents and siblings. We attend the Catholic Church in our village every Sunday. The one who takes care of me is my grandmother, on my father’s side. Her name is Pabla Gomez Toj, and she is 60 years old. She makes a living by weaving and raising hens, turkeys, and pigs to sell. She has taken care of me since my mom abandoned me. As for my father, let me tell you that he committed suicide one year ago. This was hard to know, but I have gotten over this situation step by step. Fortunately, I count on economical help from my uncle, Domingo Hernandez Gomez. He works and lives in the United States. Fortunately, we are in good health. My grandma and I have worked hard to grow corn and beans for our consumption. Some of our greatest needs are groceries. Taking advantage of this opportunity, I want you to know that LW has blessed us in many different ways.

As for me, let me tell you that I am 13 years old. This year, I attended school as a sixth grader. I prefer to receive face-to-face classes because I understand the lessons much better. My dreams are to travel to the United States to help my family economically. Therefore, I also would love to speak English. I love Christmastime because of the tasty tamales. I like drinking Coca-Cola, and my favorite sport is soccer. My family and I do not have the habit of celebrating birthdays because of our lack of money. To end this letter, let me tell you that my grandmother helped me to give all this information to a LW teacher to share with you my latest news. I will leave you now, but if you want to hear something else about my life, feel free to ask me.

Lots of love,

Gladis Paola Hernandez de la Cruz

Translated by: Hillary Popol/ AAC Secretary/ Antigua Guatemala