My Story

Chixocol, where your child lives, is a very small village nestled in a mountain valley in the state of Quiché, Guatemala. Life in this state is very difficult and somewhat isolated from the outside world. Most families live in one-room adobe houses with dirt floors and a small, attached kitchen. The extremely poor live in houses made of corn stalks. In the past few years electricity and water have become available to most people in the area - however, indoor plumbing is very rare. Most of the families are farmers or shepherds and live off the fruits of their labors. Public education is available for those who can afford it and consider it of value. Life in Quiché is always a challenge.

I am so happy to be a child of Living Water, and I am so excited to tell a little bit about myself through this! My name is Jared Natanael Tzoy Calel, and I was born on October 22, 2020 in Joyabaj, Quiche, Guatemala. I turn 6 years old this year. Otto Fernando Tzoy Velasquez and Irma Calel Gonzalez are my parents. My father works as a farmer and a day laborer. He grows crops and sells vegetables in the market. My mother is a housewife, raises hens and helps my father with the selling. I would like you to pray for my parents because they want to have another baby; nevertheless, my mother has not conceived yet. Hopefully, God allows me to have a baby brother or sister. My parents and I are attending the Catholic Church. I am so grateful to God for blessing us with good health.

I am in pre-kindergarten at school. I love playing tag with my friends. The meal I love the most is spaghetti. My favorite color is blue, and my favorite animal is the cow. My parents and I are living in my paternal grandfather´s house, and my grandparents are living there too. The house has three rooms, and we use only one room. The house is made of adobe with a tin sheet roof and a cement floor. The kitchen is made of tin sheets. We get water from a well and do not pay for it. We have electricity, and my father and grandfather divide the bill to pay for it every month. Our greatest needs are groceries, corn and clothes. It is a great blessing for me to be enrolled in the feeding program, and I get there in 15 minutes when my father takes me on his motorcycle or 30 minutes when I go by car. It is a blessing to know someone who may want to know about me. I pray God will bless you and touch your heart to support the people of Guatemala!

With all my love,

Jared Natanael Tzoy Calel

Translated by: Violeta Hernandez, A-A-C Secretary-Antigua