My Story

Zacualpa is a small but busy village in a mountain valley. The village is inhabited by both Quiche Mayans and Ladinos (those with mixed European ancestry). The prevalent language is Spanish. Families in this village live in one or two room homes generally constructed of either wood or adobe. Although many of the people are farmers, the village contains several small specialized stores, a body repair shop for buses, mechanics, plumbers and many other small-town tradesmen. It also has a large open-air market which serves much of the area. Even with all of this, the poverty level is very high and the children are very needy.

Kind regards from beautiful Guatemala! I am Angela Yasmin Toj Quinilla and I am so happy to share my information with you. I was born on December 26, 2021. Because of my young age, I still do not attend school. Some of my interests are playing with dolls and pretending to cook with plastic food toys. I like the color purple and my favorite animals are dogs. What I love eating the most is fried chicken. I live with my parents and siblings. I have one brother and one sister. Thankfully, we are all in good health. We are members of Liberty Church. My father’s name is Lester Geovani Toj Calel and he makes a living as a nurse at the public hospital in Joyabaj town. To contribute to the household expenses, my mother works as a domestic employee and her name is Ana Isabel Quinilla.

We do not own a house, but we pray and trust in God that we will have one someday. At the moment, we live at my uncle’s house. His name is Andres Quinilla and he does water services. My grandparents are living with us too. The house is made of concrete blocks and dirt floors. It has two rooms, a separate kitchen, electricity, and running water. We have chickens at home for our consumption. I am grateful to LW-Adopt A Child for blessing me with food. The feeding program is near where I live. My mother accompanies me and we usually get there on a bus, which takes us five minutes. This is all for now, but I hope you enjoyed my information.

With much love,

Angela Yasmin Toj Quinilla

Translated by: Hillary Popol, AAC Secretary / Guatemala