My Story

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

Hello! I am so excited to share my news through this. My name is Kevin Leonardo Garcia Luis. I was born on September 19^th, 2016 in Zacualpa, Quiche, Guatemala. I am 8 years old and fortunately, I am doing well. I am in the first grade and I am repeating my grade. In my free time I like to play football. My favorite color is blue and my favorite animal is the chicken. I love eating fried chicken. I have four brothers and three sisters. I attend the Zacualpa feeding program and I walk 30 minutes to get there.

My father is Ramiro Garcia Simaj. He works as a farmer and digging sand from the river alongside other people. My mother is Marta Ofelia Luis Gutierrez. She does the housework, raises hens and pigs and takes care of my siblings and me. Thankfully, my family is in good health. The house in which we live belongs to my sister´s husband and we share the house with uncles and cousins. There are three rooms made of adobe and tin sheets, the roof is made of tin sheets and it has a dirt floor. The kitchen is separate and is made of tin sheets. We have running water and electricity services and my parents take turns paying the bills. For now, we do not attend any church. Our greatest needs are corn and groceries. I hope you like my letter. May God bless you!

Huge hugs,

Kevin Leonardo Garcia Luis

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez, AAC Secretary / Antigua