Brotherly Love: JDC Provides a Lifeline for Abandoned Argentine Family

Brothers Sebastián, 33, and Diego, 26, once owned a two-acre farm and other assets inherited from their father. But when the economic crisis hit Argentina, the two were forced to sell the land to afford basic needs. Sebastián and Diego moved their families into a dilapidated one-room house made of corrugated metal panes in Pedernal, Entre Ríos – a village 400 kilometers from Buenos Aires and 50 kilometers from the nearest town, Concordia.

In effort to support themselves and their families – Sebastián's sons Marcelo, 16, and Martín, 13, and Diego's wife Elena, and their two children Cris, 3, and Micaela, 1 – the two men go out every morning to weed and maintain their neighbors' farms. Together Marcelo and Diego earn only 70 U.S. dollars per month, and prior to JDC intervention, relied on finding stray cattle to feed their household.

When JDC found the Ortizes, they were in complete abandonment. All seven family members slept, cooked, and took shelter from the cold winter in one room. They lived without basic amenities, such as a bathroom, running water, and electricity, and relied on well water for drinking and cleansing.

Despite the impoverished conditions in which they found themselves, Sebastián, Diego and their families maintained the strong Jewish values instilled by their upbringing.

The two eldest boys had taken on sporadic, odd jobs to help make ends meet, such as taming neighbors' horses, and the boys rode to school every day on a horse given to them by one of their employers. Meanwhile, Elena, herself only 23, was responsible for raising four children. The family was barely surviving.

JDC stepped in and provided immediate assistance to purchase nutritious food and enlisted the family in the Baby Help program. The Ortizes now have the support of JDC social workers and volunteers who visit monthly to bring food and medicines, and to take Elena to the city to shop at the supermarket. In addition, JDC's Housing Program is helping Sebastián and Diego to build a proper living space for their family.

Though generally reserved and unexpressive, the Ortizes are quick to acknowledge JDC's vital assistance to them in drastically improving their daily lives: social workers assigned to the Ortiz family confirm that the brothers, Sebastián and Diego, are looking for new jobs, properly dressed in new clothing provided by JDC. Micaela and Cris are happy and eagerly await the gifts that come in the Baby Help bags – the children's first and only toys. The entire family depends on JDC and its programs – particularly the social worker visits – for a connection to their local Jewish community.

As is central to its mission, JDC has restored to the Ortiz family a dignified life they thought was so far out of reach.