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In Argentina, JDC Short-Term Service Project Participants Revitalize JCC Courtyard
JDC is seeking to connect young Jews to the global Jewish community through short-term service programs for college students. With each project, Jewish student leaders are offered the opportunity to engage in meaningful service, connect with peers abroad, and learn about the pressing needs of Jewish communities outside of North America. Participants return home as advocates for the community they visited, ready to mobilize their friends, families, and communities to help.
From March 11-13, 2007, 30 students from Hillels at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas A&M, and the University of Houston traveled to Buenos Aires and Basavilbaso, Argentina, where they joined their peers from Argentina Hillel to learn about the impact of Argentina’s devastating economic crisis and to "lend a hand." Below, Lauren Heller, a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, reflects on her experience:
Before March my personal experience with Argentina was limited to watching the musical Evita hundreds of times as a child. However after spending an incredible week on a short-term service program sponsored by Texas Hillel and JDC, Argentina has left a much more notable imprint on my mind.  In 2001, the Argentine economy collapsed, forcing much of the country’s once prosperous Jewish community into poverty and financial ruin. The short-term service program, now in its fourth year, was designed by JDC to address the needs of the Jewish community in Argentina as well as to help in its relief work efforts. Although the Argentine economy is slowly improving, there are still pressing needs in the country’s Jewish community. In December 2006, 30 students, including 17 from the University of Texas, seven from Texas A&M, and six from the University of Houston, began working to gather monetary donations and in-kind goods to bring to Argentina. Our efforts targeted JDC’s Baby Help, a program designed to provide at-risk Jewish children and their mothers with basic material and social support, help them meet the children's health care needs, and improve parent-child relationships. Through letter writing, clothing drives, and our very own "Quesadilla Flip" all-you-can-eat fundraiser, we fundraised over $7,000 and packed 30 duffel bags full of clothing, medical supplies and toys. With much of our effort directed toward supporting JDC’s Baby Help, it came as no surprise that visiting the center was one of the most meaningful parts of the trip. While only a few of us could speak Spanish and only a few of the children could speak at all, our connection with the children was unbelievable. We joined them in singing Shabbat songs, created finger puppets, and even helped feed them lunch. 
Another highlight of our trip was our visit to Basavilbaso, a small town located a few hours outside of Buenos Aires with a rich Jewish history and a lasting Jewish community. We spent one and a half days revitalizing their Jewish community center’s courtyard. We painted the bleachers, resurfaced the basketball court, and—most dramatically—created a beautiful mural around the perimeter. While community service was a main focus of the trip, education was also important. We saw how the economic crisis had affected everyone from the elderly to the babies and saw how JDC provides aid to those in need. We learned from our peers at Argentina Hillel that even with economic and political instability, life is still full of friends, school, work, and fun. Each one of us North American students can now be considered an ambassador for the Argentine Jewish community. We gleaned information and stories from those in Argentina that we have taken home with us, and that we will share with others to generate awareness and support from our communities. One of the cornerstone beliefs of our trip was the idea that "Kol Yisrael Areivim Zeh B'Zeh," all Jews are responsible one for another, and with this belief we can begin to understand why we might go all the way to Argentina to lend a helping hand. April 2007 |
