Friends Church, meaning us as a community, have been working with a community in Guatemala called Rio Azul, helping them beat the debilitation of Chronic Malnutrition in their community. This is a story from our last trip. Be encouraged, this is the quality of people we are partnering with down there. – Vince
“A Fatherless Son” Making a Difference
Alberto always had a smile on his face as he helped us worked with the Villagers. A young man in his early 30s, Alberto was one of our interpreters. He worked for Food for the Hungry. He seemed to not have a care in the world. He spoke both Spanish and Ixil (a Mayan dialect ). His English was very limited. He was a crucial part of our journey, finding stories and communicating with the locals. Through a
second interpreter, I asked him how he came to work for Food for the Hungry. The story he told me took my breath away.
He was born in a small village where an incredible civil war was taking place. During this war Guatemalan soldiers would visit the Villages often raping and killing innocent people. They would look for sympathizers to the Guerrilla’s, and often looked to recruit spies to help them find the Guerrillas or at least report on their activities.
The men of Alberto’s Village gathered weapons to protect the Village and their families, but they were no match for the heavily armed military. The military then used the men to help them find the Guerrillas. But the Soldiers questioned the loyalty of the men, including Alberto’s father. So they asked him to kill a family they felt had loyalty to the Guerillas. But Alberto’s father refused. Soon after, Alberto’s father was asked to lead the soldiers through the river and while he stood in the middle of the river the soldiers opened fire on him. Alberto’s father’s body was swept away in the current, never to be found.
Alberto was only 8 years old and at this very young age knew he would spend the rest of his life helping the people of his village and the people of other victimized villages. Alberto lives a very purposeful life and is a hero of mine.”
-Jamie Buchan