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.

It is a beautiful day to greet you and share my information with you! I am Angel Adonias Aju Yos, and I am now 12 years old. I was born on November 28, 2013. Unfortunately, I am not attending school because of a lack of resources. Moreover, I suffer from a learning disorder and I have repeated 1st grade a couple times. For that reason, my grandfather stopped supporting me in school. I stay mostly at home and I enjoy drawing and playing with my spinning top and tazos. I love watching TV, especially the program “El chavo del 8” (The Kid from 8). The animal I like the most is the rabbit, and I love the color blue. I love to eat eggs and black beans. I do some errands and help my neighbors to take out the trash to get some money and buy something I want.

My mother´s name is Nohemi del Rosario Aju Yos. My father´s name is Jose Armando Sandoval Rosales. Unfortunately, both parents abandoned me. About 3 years ago, my father left me in my grandparents’ house. Since then, my grandparents are watching over me. My grandmother´s name is Maria del Rosario Rosales, and she is a housewife. Sometimes, she does some errands and earns some money. My grandfather´s name is Rene Sandoval, and he works as a tailor. Unfortunately, he does not have much work. He is the one who supplies our home needs. I have one brother and one sister. I am in good health, but I would like you to pray for my grandpa´s health. He is diabetic and receives his medicines in the local health center. However, there are times where the medicines are out of stock and he cannot buy them because of the high cost.

My grandparents are members of the Catholic Church. As for me, I am attending the Refuge of the Lamb Christian Church. The house in which we live belongs to my grandma and my uncles and cousins also live there. There are five rooms and a kitchen. Those are made of block and tin sheets; the roof is tin sheet and there is a cement floor. There are running water and electricity services. All the family contributes to pay for the bills every month. We are a humble and needy family; our greatest needs are groceries. Please, pray for my family. Let me tell you that I am so grateful for the opportunity to be enrolled at the feeding program and I get there in 15 minutes by walking. Well, this is my story and I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Many and abundant blessings over you!

With all my love,

Angel Adonias Aju Yos

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua Guatemala