My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. Both Quiche Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry) inhabit the village. The prevalent language is Spanish. Families in this village live in one or two room homes usually constructed of either wood or adobe. Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small and 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 extremely high, and the children are very needy.

I greet you fondly, hoping you are doing well. My full name is Dayana Beatriz Cabrera Munoz, and I want to share with you a little about my life. I was born on January 24, 2020, so I am 4 years old. I still do not attend school because of my age, so I stay home. My favorite pastime is painting using temperas. My favorite color is pink. I like cats and my favorite food is rice. Now, let me tell you about my family. My father is Maynor Jonathan Cabrera Morales. He traveled to the United States one year ago. He makes a living as a truck driver to provide our family with all the necessities to survive. Most of our needs are clothes and food. My mother is Cleotilde Beatriz Munoz Cordon. She is a great mom and housewife. I have one brother but no sisters. Fortunately, we are all in good health.

We do not attend any church at the moment. My family and I do not own a house, so we are grateful to my father’s great-grandmother because she allows us to live at her house for free. We help her to cover the electricity bill monthly and running water bill annually. The house is made of concrete blocks and granite floor. We use one room at the house to sleep and save our goods. We built an improvised kitchen close to our room; it is made of wood and tin sheets. The feeding program is a 25-minute walk from my home. I am glad to be part of the project because I can get delicious food for free. Before saying goodbye to you, I want you to know that my mom helped me to give all this information to a teacher of the LW evangelism team so you could hear from me. See you later!

With much love,

Dayana Beatriz Cabrera Munoz

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary