My Story

Tunajá is a very primitive area of the state of Quiché, Guatemala.  The inhabitants are Quiché Indians who trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  The prevalent language is the Indian dialect - Quiché.  The people are either farmers or shepherds and live off the fruits of their labors.  Very little money ever changes hands as they use a barter system. Public education is available - however, most families cannot afford it.  Electricity and running water are not available in most of the area.  Life in Tunajá is extremely difficult.

Hello! What a joy to write you for the first time! I hope you are spending a great time with your family and friends. Let me introduce my family. My father´s name is Juan Pastor Calachij and my mother´s is Cecillia Gonzalez Coj. My father works as a day laborer, and sometimes travels to the coast to cut coffee beans to improve the income. Meanwhile, my mother looks after the house and us. She earns some extra money by weaving and raising domestic animals for selling. We attend the Catholic Church. Our greatest necessities are corn and food. Thankfully, we are in good health.

Taking about me, I was born on October 19, 2018. I am 6 years old, and I do not attend school this year. I am still too young for that. I like playing soccer, and my favorite animal is the cat. I like orange, and I love eating fried chicken. My health is good at the moment. I have 4 sisters and no brothers. I usually walk for an hour to arrive at the feeding program. We live with our maternal grandparents and the house belongs to my grandmother. We also share the house with my aunt and nephews. It has two rooms including the kitchen. It is made of adobe, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. There is running water and electricity, but we just share the payment of electricity with my aunt. Our domestic animals are 4 chickens, 3 dogs and 1 cat. Before saying goodbye, let me tell you that my mother gave this information to the LW team. Thank you so much for your attention. I send you my love and all kinds of blessings.

With love,

Eduardo Marroquin Pastor Gonzalez

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua