Celebrating the Gift of "Light" at the JDC Baby Help Center

Like many children his age, Gabriel, three years old, loves parties. He keeps pointing to the menorah and the walls, specially decorated for the JDC Baby Help Center family Chanukah celebration. The boy is running around from friend to friend, ruddy-cheeked, with his blue eyes sparkling and a huge smile on his face. He is checking to make sure that all of the males are wearing a kippah.

"See? He can’t sit still, he is so excited. That is my boy," says Gabriel’s mother, Claudia, with a mixture of pride and resignation. Her husband, Alejandro, nods his head. Little Gabriel has been a handful.

Before Argentina’s economic crisis, Claudia and Alejandro were a young working couple with high hopes. She had a clerical job at a law firm; he was a driver for a limousine service. With their combined incomes they were paying the mortgage on their first apartment – a modest two-bedroom in a residential, middle class area of Buenos Aires. The pair was anxiously awaiting the birth of their first baby.

But by December 2001 the economy had contracted, inflation had risen out of control, and the national government was overturned. Claudia lost her job almost immediately; Alejandro got fewer calls for his services, and tips vanished. Soon their savings were gone and they were faced with the harsh reality of having to give up their apartment. "We were saved by faith," says Alejandro. Strong believers in the Jewish religion, the couple eventually went to their rabbi with their problems. "He directed us to the Joint," says Claudia, "and then things changed for the better."

The family received financial assistance that enabled them to ride out the worst of the recession. The apartment was saved and they received crucial help for their newborn baby, Gabriel. "We receive a food package every two months," says Claudia, "and when Gabriel needed very expensive corrective glasses for his squint, there was help here." Vitamins, medications, hygienic supplies, clothing, and equipment such as a cradle and stroller were also made available to the young family through Baby Help at no cost. And to encourage Gabriel' healthy development, he received all vaccination shots not provided by Argentina's Public Health System.

Gabriel is a regular at the Center. Claudia brings him in at least three times a week to play with her and other youngsters, and to participate in singing Jewish songs he already visibly loves. Through the JDC-sponsored Baby Help Center, which provides special services to at-risk pregnant women and their children (ages 0-3 years), Claudia was provided psychological consultation to ease the challenges she was facing in raising her son. "Gabriel was very rebellious, almost aggressive," she says. "He was feeling the tension of our situation." The Center has been providing professional help and Gabriel is becoming his usual self – energetic and sweet.

"These holidays are important for us" says Alejandro. "We are here to be among Jews and to give thanks for the many gifts we receive. Claudia and I know that what we get from the Joint and the Baby Help Center is crucial for our baby – more than just materially."