My Story

Pasojoc III, where your child lives, is located in an extremely remote area of the mountains in Quiche, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is a 3-hour walk to the nearest market town.  The people who inhabit the area are Quiche Mayans who can trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiche; however, Spanish is becoming more common.  The climate is basically warm, but it can get very cold at night.  Houses in this area are typically constructed of adobe with tin sheet or tile roofs and dirt floors.  Pasojoc III is an area rich with natural resources.  It is a farming area where the inhabitants grow staples such as corn, beans and other types of vegetables. Many families also raise domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cows and chickens.

Hello, my name is Manuela Floridalma Simaj Larios. I was born on December 6, 2020, and I am 3 years old. I am a healthy girl. I am not enrolled at school this year due to my young age. I enjoy playing with dolls at home. I love red and my favorite animals are hens. I like to eat rice and black beans. I have only one sister. I walk about thirty minutes to come to the feeding center along with my mother. We are members of Prince of Peace. I live under my parent´s care. My father´s name is Bernardo Simaj Quino. He provides for our economic needs by working as a mason.  In addition, my parents travel to the coast from November to January to pick coffee beans during the harvest season in order to earn some money to cover our family needs. Thankfully, they are in good health. My mother’s name is Ana Larios Garcia. She lives with the family, and she is a housewife. Moreover, she raises hens and pigs to sell and get some income.

We live in my maternal grandfather’s house and my grandparents live with us. We do not pay rent. The house has three rooms and one separated kitchen. The house is made of adobe, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We do not have running water, but we get it from a natural spring. We do not have electricity, so we use lanterns. We have domestic animals at home. We are a needy family, and our current need are groceries. We would like to have hens at home, and we have enough space for them in our house. This is my personal information, and I hope you find it interesting. My mother provided the information to the LW teacher for my enrollment.

Kisses and hugs!

Manuela Floridalma Simaj Larios

Translated by: Gladys Chavez. / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua