back to the babies (and bubbes) of buenos aires

I had a very special opportunity to return to Baby Help, the center I volunteered at last summer. Baby Help is a JDC daycare for at-risk youth aged 0-3 in Buenos Aires and provides them with a safe place to be while their parents work within a Jewish context. I entered the center and was greeted with many of the same smiling faces of teachers and children that I had worked with last year. The teachers (morot) at the center are lovely, they are so dedicated to what they do, treat the children as if they were their own, and really believe in Baby Help's idea of creating a better future for these wonderful children. After taking a quick walk around the center to see if anything had changed (it was pretty much exactly as I had remembered it) and talking to the teachers about why I was back and what I would be doing in Buenos Aires for the year, I learned more about the activity that would be happening that day.

Baby Help Indoor Playground

Baby Help holds special programs for the families around the Jewish holidays. Today they were having a celebration for Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot and were grateful for the extra help. Baby Help had invited all of the children's grandparents to come to the center for the afternoon to celebrate the Jewish holidays with their grandchildren. The first step was to transport the 30 children to the rooms where their grandparents were waiting for them. My favorite part of this part was watching the babies faces brighten up with recognition as they ran into their grandparents arms. Next, the children divided up by age for activities including decorating Jewish holiday calendars with their grandparents.

Afterwards, all the children and their grandparents joined together in the Sukkah. Baby Help is located in Ledor Vador, an elderly Jewish home in Buenos Aires, so the Sukkah is shared by Ledor Vador and Baby Help.

 

In the Sukkah we shook the lulav and etrog, played Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot themed games, sang, and danced. I had goosebumps on my arms as the children shouted out all of the different objects used for Rosh Hashanah and Sukkot during one of the games; these babies certainly knew their Jewish traditions! Each class also performed a piece they had put together: 

The babies (with the help of their grandparents) showed off their shofar blowing skills

while the 2 and 3 year-olds performed songs and dances about baking challah and constructing sukkahs that they had prepared for their grandparents.

Luli had her 2nd birthday when I
was there last summer and now is 3 1/2 wow!

The grandparents were overjoyed to spend time with their grandchildren and celebrate the holidays; there were smiles all around! I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to return to the center and most importantly, take part in this special intergenerational celebration with the children and their grandparents. Baby Help provides a Jewish connection for these children and their families; a place they can celebrate their religion and traditions together as a community. The center provides a valuable service while simultaneously instilling Jewish traditions and values into the children; it's a win-win in my eyes. I can't wait to go back again; these babies always put a smile on my face!