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Caring for Baby Forces Grandmother to Seek Job and Baby Help Assistance
At only sixteen months old Neron already has a challenging life. He never knew his father, who died before Neron was born. His mother, stricken with grief, soon thereafter abandoned him to the care of his grandmother, Melosa. "Losing a spouse so young is the worst thing that can happen to anybody," she says. "That broke my daughter's heart forever."
The young grandmother is raising Neron along with her own teenage daughter. "Here I am, taking care of a baby and a high school girl," she says, shrugging in resignation. Melosa is reluctant to discuss how much her daughter has been in touch since leaving Buenos Aires more than a year ago. "She can't get over the accident," is all the warm, loving woman will say. Before Neron was born, Melosa had a modest lifestyle but was able to send her youngest to school and put food on the table. "All we have is my husband’s retirement money," she explains, "and you know what inflation did to that kind of income." Like tens of thousands of people plunged dramatically into poverty by Argentina's economic crisis of December 2001, Melosa's family found themselves struggling. With a baby to raise, Melosa's husband tried to go back to work but quickly learned that a country in crisis – with unemployment at more than 16 percent – has very little to offer a man his age. That's when they decided to seek assistance. "It was very hard for me to come to the JDC," Melosa admits. "I couldn't bring myself to ask for help, and I expected to be humiliated." Eventually a friend convinced her and accompanied her to the first interview. "It's the best thing I did in my life," she says now. "They have the sensitivity not to make you feel that they are helping you, but that they are sharing with you." Through JDC's Baby Help program, Neron receives milk, diapers, vitamins, and other essentials to ensure his healthy development. He was also one of the first clients at the Baby Help Center when it opened last year. "He received sessions of early stimulation, and we buy most of his clothes from the voluntary shop here," says Melosa, referring to the Center's supply bank of clothing, toys, and costly equipment such as strollers and high chairs. "It is not only the baby that benefits," reflects Melosa. "It's me, too; the company, the feeling of belonging to the community, being here at the Center with other Jews for the Holidays. Because of this I can pass on my culture and my faith to my grandson." |
