The Refrigerator was Bare When Uriel Was Born

Not long ago, Marcelo and Silvina were a thriving middle class couple in Argentina. Marcelo, an architect, specialized in designing shopping malls, and Silvina led marketing seminars for business executives. They supplemented their income with a family-owned company offering computer courses.

Those peaceful days now seem like ancient history. Marcelo and Silvina, who have lost their jobs and their company. The couple is struggling to support themselves and their two children, three-year-old Jessica and eight-month-old Uriel.

"Jessica was born at a tough time," says Silvina, sitting in the small three-room apartment they decorated with white clouds and Mondrian motifs. "Uriel, at an even tougher one." By the time Uriel was born, the refrigerator was empty and their pantry bare. On the advice of his Hebrew teacher, Marcelo went to a JDC-sponsored Social Assistance Center and asked for help. The center gave them food vouchers and money for basic expenses.

Silvina now spends most of her days at the Ariel Job Center, sending her resumé out to companies. "The printer at home has not been turned on for the past year," says Silvina, a young woman who loves paintings and sculpture. "We can't afford to replace the ink cartridge."

Silvina is a diabetic, but she doesn't ask for her medication at the Jewish Community Central Pharmacy. "We are trying to convince a private clinic we used to visit to give me the medication," she explains. "They're required to do so by law and we don't want take medicine away from another Jew who might need it more than I do."

Their daughter, Jessica attends the Shalom Aleichem Jewish school on a scholarship that covers 70 percent of her tuition.

"I love the Jewish school," says Silvina. "Their support is not only financial. I want to give my children a Jewish education to help shape their identities."