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.

Hello! I greet you excitedly, hoping you are doing well. My name is Juliana Griselda Benito Calachij and I want to use this opportunity to tell you a little bit about my life with you through this letter. I was born on July 8, 2014. I am a healthy girl, and my favorite animals are rabbits. I am in second grade again. After school, I enjoy pretending to cook with my toys. My favorite color is red, and I love eating rice. The people who I live with are my biological parents and siblings. I have two brothers and four sisters. My father’s name is Mariano Benito Gomez. He works as a day laborer despite his vision issues. Unfortunately, he is not able to see well with his right eye. He has not visited a doctor because of a lack of money. Therefore, I would like to count on your prayers for him. My mom’s name is Juana Calachij Rodriguez. She works hard as a day laborer to help my father with the expenses. She sometimes washes clothes for other people.

My family and I attend Ebenezer Church. We live in our own house. It has only one room, but no kitchen. Therefore, my mom prepares our meals in the hallway. The walls are made of bricks with a tin sheet roof and concrete floor. We do not pay for electricity because we have a solar spotlight. We have running water; my father pays for that service annually. We only have chickens at home. We are a large and needy family. Our greatest need is groceries. My siblings and I usually walk for 20 minutes from where we live to get to the feeding program. To end my letter, I want you to know that my mother helped me to give all this information to a teacher of LW. I will leave you now, but I pray the Lord blesses your life forever!

Sincerely yours,

Juliana Griselda Benito Calachij

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala