My Story

Nueva Esperanza, which means New Hope, is located in a slum area of Guatemala City, Guatemala. An extremely poor area, our program is squeezed in among the shanty dwellings built over an old city dump. Many houses in this area are without toilets or running water and are assembled with scrap wood, sheet metal, and cardboard. Zone 5, where Nueva Esperanza is located, is considered one of the most dangerous areas of Guatemala City. It is controlled by gangs and drug pushers. Robberies and murders are common in this area. Public education is available - however, many cannot afford it. Life in Zone 5 is very difficult. It is an extremely dangerous area where criminals, prostitutes and drug addicts live.  

Hello! How are you? I am happy to write you this letter and I hope you like it. This is, Darolyn Camila Lemus Godoy. I was born on July 16, 2017. I am now 8 years old. I am a first-grade student. The things that I like the most in my free time are painting, jumping rope and play a memory game. My favorite color is red and I love cats. A delicious dish for me is refried beans. Thanks to God, my family and I are fine. About my family, my mother is Sara Avigail Godoy Oliva, and she is the only one who supports our family by selling items. My father is Juan Eduardo Lemus Buch but he does not live with or help us in any way. I have one sister, and her name is Alexandra Massiel.  We attend a Christian church called “Family of God”.

Thanks to God, we have our own house which is made of block, tin sheet roof, concrete floor, and we have running water and electricity. There are two rooms but we only use one of them with a separate kitchen. My grandfather lives with us. Our greatest needs are groceries and school supplies. It takes me about 10 minutes walking from my house to the feeding program. I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my information.

With much love,

Darolyn Camila Lemus Godoy

Translated by: Lucia Gravez