Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is a two hour walk to the nearest market town of Zacualpa. Cuatro Caminos is a farming area where corn and black beans, the staple elements in their diet, are the major crops. The Quiche Mayans who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization. They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiché - however, Spanish is becoming more common. Very little money ever changes hands in this area as they live on a barter system. 

Hello! This is Eliseo Daniel Gomez Toj, and I want to tell you a little about me through this letter. I am 4 years old, and I was born on June 2, 2020. I am not attending school yet due to my age, so I stay at home playing soccer and with my toys. I love eating fried chicken, and my favorite color is green. I like chicks. I have five brothers and four sisters, and four of them are part of the feeding program too. We walk for 10 minutes to arrive at the program. I am in good health and so is my family. At the moment, we are not attending a church.  

Francisco Gomez Benito and Martha Toj Benito are my parents’ names. My dad works as a farmer and day laborer three or four days per week, and my mom works hard at home and raises hens for selling and helping with the income. We live in our own house, and it has two rooms and a kitchen. The house is made of adobe and wood with a tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We get water from a spring which is about ten steps away from our house; we carry the water in buckets or jars. We have electricity service and we pay the bill every month. We have hens and sheep. We are a humble family, and our frequent needs are groceries. Well, I say goodbye to you for now hoping you like my letter. 

Cordially yours 

Eliseo Daniel Gomez Toj 

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua