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 crops. 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 Maria Roselda Pastor Mendez. My birthdate is May 22, 2015, which makes me 8 years of age now. This year I am repeating first grade. The color I like the most is pink, and hens are my favorite animal. The meal I love is fried chicken. I enjoy riding my bicycle in my free time. I have 9 brothers and two sisters. My father is Camilo Pastor Chingo. Unfortunately, he cannot do big physical efforts because had a surgery some time ago due to a hernia. He no longer visits a doctor due to lack of resources. For now, he looks after cows for one of his brothers and earns some money. My mother is Ruperta Mendez Mendez. She struggles to get income to supply our needs. She raises and sells hens besides doing the housework. Fortunately, our church is blessing us with food parcels once in a while.

We are members of the Assembly of God Church. We do not have our own house, but fortunately, my uncle Sabino Mendez has loaned us his house. There is only one adobe room and my mother cooks inside since there is no kitchen. The roof is made of tin sheets and the floor is just dirt. We have no running water or electricity; we bring water from a nearby river and use candles to get light. The most needed items for us are groceries, corn and clothes. The feeding program is near my home, and I walk five minutes to get there. This time the Living Water staff collected this information personally for the record, and my mother Ruperta Mendez provided it. Take care of yourself. Every kind of blessing!

Huge hugs,

Maria Roselda Pastor Mendez

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