My Story

Chixocol, where your child lives, is a very small village nestled in a mountain valley in the state of Quiche, Guatemala. Life in this state is very difficult and somewhat isolated from the outside world. Most families live in one-room adobe houses with dirt floors and a small attached kitchen. The extremely poor live in houses made of corn stalks. In the past few years electricity and water have become available to most people in the area - however, indoor plumbing is very rare. Most of the families are farmers or shepherds and live off the fruits of their labors. Public education is available for those who can afford it and consider it of value.  Life in Quiche is always a challenge

I have joy in my heart about writing this letter and I will share a little about my life and my family. My name is Albert Alexander Gonzalez Cuin. I was born on July 15^th, 2013, and I am 11 years old. Thanks to God, I have the opportunity to attend school and I am in fifth year. I love the color green and turtles. My favorite food is eggs with sausages. My family and I are Prince of Peace Church members. I want to tell you that I am learning to drive a tuk tuk. I am not in good health. I often suffer from a cough and fever. Let me tell you about my family. My father´s name is Jose Manuel Gonzalez Chitic. My mother´s name is Maria Cuin Us. They work selling vegetables at the market on Sunday in Zacualpa town. Sadly, my parents are not in good health. My father is diabetic, and sometimes he has relapses. My mother suffers from bronchopneumonia and often she suffers from fever and cough.  Thanks to God both have their treatments. My father takes natural medicine, and my mother takes chemical medicine.  I have five brothers and two sisters. Some of them are already married. We live in own our house. It has four rooms, but we use three of them and a separate kitchen. The house is made of block walls, tin sheet roof with concrete floor. We have running water and electricity. We have some hens, pigs, cows and sheep. We are a family that lacks the resources to cover all our meals and one of our big needs is groceries. We travel 20 minutes by bus to get to the feeding program. Thank you for reading my information, and I hope you find it interesting.

Big Hugs,

Albert Alexander Gonzalez Cuin

Translated by: Magnolia De Torres / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala