I stayed up here until 6 and posted on Facebook that the water was here – I gave out a bunch last night and people have been in and out all day – We appreciate you very much…

 The tiny town of Bud, West Virginia (pop. about 450) might never had made the news if Charleston, the state’s capital had not been impacted by a dangerous chemical spill this past month. For more than a week the region’s water supply was off-limits due to the toxic spill which wreaked havoc on everything from medical facilities to the local economy.

Of lesser note in the media has been the story of Bud, a tiny coal-mining community less than two hours from the capital. Residents in Bud, clearly “hardy folk”, have been without safe water since last September when their local supplier issued a water advisory as the filtration system shut down. Since that time only brown, rusty water has flowed. When Peter Freimark, a Good People Fund board member learned about the problem from an online news report, the situation in Bud resonated with us. Bud  sounds much like the tiny town of McRoberts, Kentucky where we have developed a long-standing relationship over these past three years.

With a few strategic  phone calls we were quickly connected to Virginia Lusk, the principal of the K-8 school who confirmed the problem and acknowledged that some groups from outside the area had heard of the town’s plight and were sending in water. With a bit of bargaining we were able to get the local supermarket to sell us 1000 one-gallon jugs of water which were delivered to the school this past Thursday.

Despite hopes for a quick resolution of the problem, with the water company in the process of being sold and antiquated equipment beyond repair, it will no doubt be some time before anything but rusty water pours from the taps of local homes.

While politicians bicker about  healthcare choices in our wealthy country we often forget what the reality is for millions of people living in poor, under-developed countries where the choices are limited at best. For that reason and many others we love to support Richard Mandell’s work at The Pan-African Acupuncture Project. Though Richard’s work was originally focused on the African continent, last year he and his volunteer acupuncturists traveled to Mexico for their first visit.

With the help of the Good People Fund, Richard and his team recently completed a return visit where they trained 16 local volunteers in this effective alternative therapy. Patients with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, dengue and other chronic illnesses all benefited. The success of these sessions was easily measured by the return visits of many patients who had finally gotten some relief from their symptoms.

As Richard wrote today, “It is so important that we continue our important work–training health workers how to provide care when otherwise there may be none.”

The Good People Fund was thrilled to be able to make this possible.

The kids pictured here are all part of the Heftzibah Community Center in Netanya. This past Monday they were visited by our friends from Lev Leytzan, a group of medical clowns headed by Dr. Neal Goldberg. We have  supported this talented group’s work for many years and this Hanukkah were thrilled to be able to connect them with The Forgotten People Fund, another Good People Fund grantee, so that the clown troupe could bring some cheer and a lot of Hanukkah presents to Israeli kids who might otherwise not celebrate. The Ethiopian kids who visit this community center come from the poorest neighborhood in Netanya and from the looks of the pictures it seems as if the game of Simple Simon (in addition to a balloon animal workshop and more) provided laughs and fun for everyone (along with some delicious sufganiyot).

“Extraordinary”…a word we use often, perhaps too often. Defined as remarkable, exceptional, amazing, astonishing, astounding, incredible, unbelievable, phenomenal — extraordinary should be reserved for that rare something or someone  we come upon but a few times in life.

The Rabbanit Bracha Kapach, z’l, was one such extraordinary person and today, at the age of 90, the Rabbanit has died and left behind an unsurpassed legacy of mitzvahs and gemilut chassidim almost too complex to describe. The legendary Pesach food packages distributed to thousands of people each Spring; brides too poor to have their own wedding gown could always count on the Rabbanit’s “bridal salon”; her camp for kids who would otherwise have no summer fun; school supplies, clothing, weekly Shabbat food; words of wisdom for those lost and distraught…the list is endless.

Over the span of more than 20 years I sat in the Rabbanit’s living room on each of my Israel visits, among the artificial flowers and hookah, the cookies from the shuk and bottles of soda and Prigat juice, and held her hand. You see, we had no common language and yet there was a deep, deep love that flowed from one to the other. My Ivrit is pathetic but her English was worse! Whenever we met and hugged she would tell me proudly, “I love you.” And I loved her for everything that she did, for her unceasing energy and passion for helping everyone. There was always a never-ending line at her door — Jerusalem’s castaways never left without some sustenance or monetary help. That was just the way it was supposed to be and when I would remind her that these mitzvahs cost money that she sometimes did not have, her answer was always the same…”Hashem ya’azor”…God will provide. And…she was right.

It was my first meeting with her that I came to understand the Hebrew word “ziv“,  for she radiated all that was good and just and right. I have often wondered if her eema, Naomi, had some premonition when this child was born and so gave her the name Bracha–for indeed, she was a blessing to everyone who knew her.

May her memory be for a blessing.

http://www.jta.org/2013/11/26/news-opinion/israel-middle-east/remembering-rabbanit-bracha-kapach-lifeline-to-jerusalems-poor-and-israel-prize-winner