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

Hello! My name is Erick Neimar Toj de la Cruz, and I hope you are receiving many blessings from our Lord. I attend the Chixocol feeding program. I am 11 years old, and I was born on April 3, 2013. I have one brother and two sisters. I am in fourth grade. I love to eat fried chicken. I am a healthy boy. My favorite color is black, and my favorite animal is the dog. In my free time, I like to play football. My father´s name is Israel Toj Rodriguez. He is in The United States now. He works as mason’s helper and sends us economically support every 15 days. My mother´s name is Pabla de la Cruz Benito. She is a housewife but weaves typical blouses also to earn some extra money. Thanks to God, my mother, siblings and I are in good health, but my father suffers from gastritis. He has not visited any doctor for lack of resources, so he just takes natural medicines. We live in my father´s house, and my grandmother lives with us. The house has three rooms and a separate kitchen. It is made of block walls and a tile roof with concrete floor. We have running water and electricity. We raise some hens and geese. We are family with many needs, and some of these are groceries. I want to tell you that we live 30 minutes from the feeding program, and we get there by bicycle. I wish you many blessings for you and your family.

Hugs and kisses,

Erick Neimar Toj de la Cruz

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