My Story

Chuchuca, where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is more than a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Chuchuca is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major corps. The Quiché Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system.

Hello! I am Ana Andrea Lux Coj. My birthdate is February 28, 2012, which makes me 11 years of age now. This year I attend 5^th grade at school, and I like to study. My favorite color is purple, and I like dinosaurs. The meal I love is creole hen broth. I like to play football with my friends. Unfortunately, I do not have my biological parents with me; my biological mother was Cecilia Coj Garcia, but she passed away after giving birth to me. And, my biological father is Rolando Lux Morente, but he abandoned me. Since then, my grandmother Andrea Garcia Rodriguez has been taking care of me. She is 62 years old now; she does not have a job and most of the time she raises hens and pigs to sell and supply our needs. We grow corn for our consumption, but it is not very much. I have three brothers and one sister, but they do not live with me. By the grace of God, we are healthy.

We attend the Catholic Church. My grandma owns the house in which we live; there are two rooms, and the kitchen is separate. Walls are made of wooden boards with a tile roof and a concrete floor. We have running water and electricity services; the electricity payment is Q55 = $8.00 each month, and the water is Q60 = $9.00 once per year. For now, the greatest need is to repair the kitchen because there is damage to both the walls and roof. We also are in need of food and clothes. I am so happy to attend the feeding program and I walk 30 minutes to arrive there. This time the Living Water staff collected this information personally for the record, and my grandma Andrea Garcia provided it. With much love and many blessings!

Bunch of hugs,

Ana Andrea Lux Coj

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala