New Children's Initiative in Romania

Daniel, 8 months old, is passed back and forth between his grandmother and his six-year-old sister, Reveka, until he begins to fuss. As a fly buzzes near his forehead, his bright blue eyes seem to be struggling to focus themselves on something in the cramped, dusty living room, which smells sour and is stockpiled with papers, books, and other gadgets. Since birth, the baby has exhibited signs of Down Syndrome and needs to undergo very expensive tests that the family cannot afford.

For the past two months, the children's father, Mihas, has been working as a foreman at the local Pepsi plant. Before that, he was unemployed. "I am an engineer, but in Romania there is no industry anymore so engineers are of little value," he says. He is now preparing his doctorate in chemistry with the goal of landing a job with a cutting-edge American chemical firm he has researched near his hometown of Bucharest. But for the moment, the money that Mihas makes cannot nearly support his wife and three young children. "It is very frustrating to try and be resourceful but to come up short," he says, his shame evident in every word.

Like their father, the two older children, Reveka, age 6 and Emil, 4, are active in the Jewish community of Bucharest. Both participate in weekly Talmud Torah classes and sing in the Jewish choir. And because they are very gifted, the local Jewish day school allows them to attend without paying tuition. But even with this consideration, Mihas struggles to provide food and medicines for his family and to keep a roof over their heads. The children are in desperate need of clothing and school materials, such as notebooks and pencils, which are beyond their means. And baby Daniel's only hope to be properly tested and treated for his illness is equally dependent upon help from JDC's Children's Initiative in cooperation with the Jewish Federation of Romania (FEDROM).