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! My name is Abdel Neftali Riz Garcia and I will tell you a little bit about my life through this letter. I hope you find it engaging. Before doing it, I want you to know that my mother helped me to give all this information to a teacher of LW. I was born on April 20, 2018, and I am a healthy boy. I do not attend school yet, but I hope to do it next year. I have a lot of fun playing with my toy cars. My favorite color is yellow, I love dinosaurs, and my favorite dish is spaghetti. I live with my parents and oldest sister. I do not have any brothers. My father’s name is Noe Riz. He is a hardworking moto taxi driver. My mother’s name is Vilma Marleny Garcia Gomez de Riz. She keeps busy doing the chores and taking care of my sister and me. Fortunately, there is nobody sick at home.

We attend a Christian Church called Sinai Hills. We live with my paternal grandmother in her house. There are four rooms at home including the kitchen. The walls are made of bricks with a tile roof and concrete floors. We have a well to get fresh water from it. We also have electricity, and my father helps to pay for that service. We raise some chickens at home. We are a family with low economic resources. Our greatest need is groceries. The feeding program is a little bit far away from where we live. Therefore, my father takes my sister and me there in his tuk-tuk. It takes us 15 minutes to get there. I say goodbye to you for now, but I hope to hear from you soon.

With much love,

Abdel Neftali Riz Garcia

Translated by: Hillary Popol / AAC Secretary / Antigua Guatemala