My Story

Pasojoc III, where your child lives, is located in an extremely remote area of the mountains in Quiche, Guatemala.  Life in this area is very difficult and very isolated from the outside world. It is a 3-hour walk to the nearest market town.  The people who inhabit the area are Quiche Mayans who can trace their ancestral roots to the ancient Mayan civilization.  They normally speak a Mayan dialect called Quiche; however, Spanish is becoming more common.  The climate is basically warm, but it can get very cold at night.  Houses in this area are typically constructed of adobe with tin sheet or tile roofs and dirt floors.  Pasojoc III is an area rich with natural resources.  It is a farming area where the inhabitants grow staples such as corn, beans and other types of vegetables. Many families also raise domestic animals such as sheep, goats, cows and chickens.

Hello, my name is Andrea Yesica Calachij Larios. I was born on January 28, 2021, and I am 4 years old. I am a healthy girl. I am not enrolled at school this year due to my young age. I enjoy playing with dolls at home. I love blue and my favorite animals are hens. I like to eat fried chicken. I have only one sister. I walk about thirty minutes to come to the feeding center. We are members of Prince Church. I live under my parent´s care. My father´s name is Adan Calachij Barrera. He provides for our economic needs by working as a farmer and day laborer. He travels to the coast at any time to work in any job he can find. In addition, both of my parents travel to the coast from November to January to pick coffee beans during the harvest season in order to earn some money to cover our family needs. My grandparents look after the house while my parents are in the Coast. My father`s name is Luis, and he works as a farmer. My grandmother`s name is Andrea, and she is a housewife. My mother’s name is Maria Larios Garcia. She lives with the family, and she is in good health. She is a housewife and looks after the family. Moreover, she raises hens to sell and get some income.

We live in our own house and my grandparents live with us. The house has three rooms and one separated kitchen. We use only two rooms, and the house is made of adobe, tin sheet roof and dirt floor. We do not have running water, but we get it from a natural spring by connecting a hose. We do not have electricity, so we use lanterns. We would like to have hens at home, and we have enough space for them in our house. This is my personal information, and I hope you find it interesting. My mother provided the information to the LW teacher for my enrollment.

Huge hugs!

Andrea Yesica Calachij Larios

Translated by: Gladys Chavez. / A-A-C Secretary-Antigua