My name is Litzel Nohelia Acuña Rugama. I am 14 years old and live in Guanacaste, a community about 30 minutes by bus from Condega. I am now finishing my second of five years of high school. Here our school year goes from February through November. I study all day on Saturdays (8 am to 3:30 pm) and Wednesdays (1-5pm) in Santa Teresa, a town about a 20 minute bus ride from my house.This was my first year to receive support from the Asla Foundation, and both my family and I are so grateful.
I live with my grandparents, my mother and father, my sister (11), my uncle, his wife and their 3 year old son, and my mom's sister (my aunt) who is 16 years old and will finish her 4th year of high school in November. She has had support from the Asla Foundation for 3 years, and my little sister has applied for 2026.
My grandfather is a farmer and my grandmother works in the house. My mother works in a cigar factory in Condega Monday through Friday.
We are all excited because in December and part of January we will go to visit family in Wiwili, a city about the size of Pullman. Families of both my grandparents and great-grandparentslive in that area. We take a bus for about 7 hours northeast from here toward a big river called Rio Coco, where the country is moremountainous and colder. We stay at different places to see some of our family. Then, from Wiwili we take a truck two more hours to get to a small community called La Llorona where my grandfather's parents live. We eat so well there with all the good food grown, including oranges, malanga, banana, and coffee. We have fresh tortillas and coffee every day. Then we go to visit my grandmother’s parents where we have to take a boat for an hour to Corozal. We all love to go to see all the family up there during this time.
In my spare time I love to play soccer with my friends and also help my grandmother. I also study hard to get good grades. Thank you so much to the Asla Foundation for all the support you give my family. Many blessings to you.