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 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 Quiché Indians who inhabit this area trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak an Indian 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! I am Dary Benito Ramos, and I feel happy to greet you for the first time. I am excited to tell you about my family and me. I was born in Zacualpa on March 1, 2022. I am a healthy 4-year-old boy. I am still too young to attend school, so I spend my time at home playing with toy cars. My favorite animals are chicks, and my favorite color is red. I enjoy eating noodles and rice. I have two brothers and three sisters with whom I usually attend the feeding program alongside my father or mother. I usually walk for one hour to arrive.

My father´s name is Nazario Benito Riz. He earns a living as a farmer. My mother´s name is Gregoria Ramos Lopez and she is a housewife. Moreover, she raises some chickens to sell to help with the economy. We do not travel to the coast to work. Both of my parents are in good health thanks to God. At the moment, we do not attend any church but hope to do it soon.

About our house, well, fortunately my father owns one. It has two rooms and a separate kitchen. The house is made of adobe walls, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We do not have running water, just electricity. One of my neighbors gives us running water from a water source that he has. We carry it from his house to ours. Thankfully, we do not pay anything for it. My grandfather and father share the electricity service payment every month. Our domestic animals are chickens. As a family our main necessities are clothes, corn and groceries. Well, this is all I can share with you for now. Thank you so much for loving me.

Many blessings to you,

Dary Benito Ramos

Translated by: Mireya de Sandoval, AAC Secretary / Antigua