Mirtala is eight years old. She likes to plant trees. She wants to have a green thumb so that she can do a good job. Her work helps her family have food.
Mirtala's family had problems last year. Her father got sick. He went to a hospital. It was in a city in Guatemala. Her mother needed help. She had twelve children to feed! She was worried about her husband. She was worried about her children.
One day a visitor came to the village. He wanted to do a project called reforestation. Reforestation meant planting trees. The trees would help to hold the soil in place. The visitor gave Mirtala's family jobs. They all liked planting trees. They received food for their work. They got rice, beans, and corn. They also got sardines, oil, and medicine. They helped to plant 5,000 trees.