My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiché Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). The prevalent language is Spanish. Families in this village live in one or two room homes generally constructed of either wood or adobe. Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small specialized stores, a body repair shop for buses, mechanics, plumbers and many other small town tradesmen. It also has a large open air market which serves much of the area. Even with all of this, the poverty level is very high and the children are very needy.

My name is Eriksen Rene Morales Garcia, and I am four years old. I was born on February 18, 2018. I am a healthy boy. I am not attending school yet because I am still too young. I like to spend my time playing toys cars and teddies. I like the color blue, and I like the dove. I love to eat noodles. I live with my parents and with my siblings. My father works as a ¨cargador de verduras¨ (he carries heavy package of vegetables from one place to another place). He works far away from our house, and he comes to visit us every month. My mother does the housework, and sometimes, she goes to work as a day laborer in order to contribute with the home expenses. I have one brother and one sister. We do not attend a church, but we hope to do it soon. We live in a house that belongs to my aunt, and it is made of adobe, tin sheet roof and concrete floor. We have one room, and we cook in the same room. We share the house with my grandparents. We do not have running water and electricity; we get our water from a nearby well, and my grandparents share the electricity with us. My aunt and my mother pay the electricity service. At home, we have hens and pigs. We pray for God to help us to have our own house someday. Our necessities are groceries, corn and clothes. My mother brings me to the feeding program, and we walk about thirty minutes to arrive.  

From the bottom of my heart,

Eriksen Rene Morales Garcia

Translated by: Esther Hernández, AAC Secretary/Antigua