My Story

Cuatro Caminos "four roads", where your child lives, is an area located high on the side of a mountain in the state of Quiche, 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 Quiche - 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 Nery Samuel Chingo Gutierrez, and I want to share with you a little about my family and me. I am 6 years old, and I was born on May 5, 2019. I am in good health, and I am in kindergarten this year. I play soccer in my free time. My favorite color is yellow, and I love cats. I enjoy eating fried chicken. I have four brothers and four sisters, and one of them is registered at the feeding program too. We walk for 20 minutes to arrive at the program. We are a needy family, and groceries and clothes are our frequent needs. 

My father’s name is Samuel Chingo Gutierrez, and he works as a farmer, day laborer or wood cutter to cover our needs; I want to ask for your prayers for him because he has alcoholic problems. My mother’s name is Teresa Gutierrez Lopez, and she is a housewife; she also raises hens for selling. Thank God, my family is in good health. We are not attending a church, but we hope to attend LW church someday. We live in our own house, and it has two rooms and a kitchen; it is made of adobe with a tile and tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We have electricity service, and we get the water from a spring water which is 10 minutes away from our house. We have hens at home. I say goodbye to you for now hoping to have news from you soon.

Many blessings

Nery Samuel Chingo Gutierrez

Translated by: Loyda de Osorio, AAC Secretary-Antigua