How are you? The Quincy Kids and I are hoping 2010 is treating you well.

We are fine, but tired, and we need some help from some "Good People." Why are we tired?

The school year at Broad Meadows Middle School began with a record 60 middle school students joining our Kids’ Campaign (founded in 1994 to keep alive the dream of a martyred child slave).

Each year as you well know, the children here partner with children in a dozen or so other US schools and we partner with one reputable non-governmental organization to bring freedom, education and health care to children in a developing country in memory of Iqbal Masih. We call our annual project Operation Day’s Work or ODW for short. One is the operative number. Each school year, the children involved choose ONE country, ONE non-governmental organization in that country, ONE project designed by the people in the chosen country, and the thousand children involved in the dozen member schools work ONE day for that project and then donate their ONE day’s pay to the project. A thousand children in our dozen member schools times $30 each adds up to enough to make a project into a reality each school year. So far, we have successfully established such projects in eleven countries in Central America, Africa and in Asia.

So, in late 2009, the kids studied the 10 project proposals received this year.

In November of 2009 the kids’ voting results revealed they had voted to partner with the non-governmental organization,Selamta, and to make "Homes and Families for Ethiopian Orphans," as our annual ODW aid project. This project will provide THIS YEAR 70 orphans with three things every child needs: a family, a home and an education. Currently, 5 million orphans are warehoused by the thousands in Ethiopia. This year’s project will change the lives forever of 70 of those orphans by providing them with nine brothers and sisters, a step-mom and a step-aunt, and a brand new home. We hope to raise awareness of the 5 million orphans of Ethiopia in this year’s project. Helping 70 may not seem like much, but the alternative is to do nothing or do something. This year, as they have done since 1994, the Kids’ Campaign voted to DO SOMETHING. (Think "Legend of the Starfish" )

Naomi, 2010 started with such high hopes and big plans for repairing the lives of orphans in Ethiopia, then at 5 P.M.’ish on January 12th, that 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti. On January 13th, The Quincy Kids (aka ODW aka The Kids’ Campaign) voted to put on hold the Ethiopia campaign for ONE month. The number ONE was replaced by the number TWO. The Quincy Kids decided they would double their efforts and help people in TWO countries this year: Haiti and Ethiopia.

From January 12th to February 12th, Broad Meadows students organized the school and the community in a month of fund raising for Haitian earthquake victims.

For a drawing, local businesses donated prizes such as Red Sox tickets, a signed Patriots jersey, a Wii, dinner certificates, and more. A donation jar was set up in the cafeteria. Teachers sold mini bottles of water in classrooms. Over $3000 was raised and donated to our last year’s ODW partner "Partners in Health." Last year’s annual project coincidentally was free education for 2000 children in Haiti and free health care for their families. Everything seemed so small in comparison to the 200,000 dead and millions homeless in Haiti in 2010.

Last Friday we handed our donations to Partners in Health. Now, we are going to resume our fund-raising for the Ethiopian Orphan Project with Selamta. Some might say enough has been done this school year. Some might say the community cannot support another global aid project in the current recession. Some might be experiencing donor fatigue. However, at last Friday’s after school activism meeting, the Broad Meadows students voted to immediately resume the 2010 Ethiopia campaign. (I love these kids! They want to change children’s worlds and nothing can stop them!) I have total faith in these kids, but in helping Haiti, they wiped out their "tools for change."

They need some help.

Dear friends, Naomi and The Good People Fund," I hope you can consider restocking some of the tools used up in January and February.

To raise awareness of their Ethiopian "Homes and Families for Orphans" campaign (February to June), the kids compiled a list of supplies they "wish" they had:

white poster board
white out
3 different color highlighters
stamps
colorful markers
pens
a 6 foot vinyl sign to hang where they perform community service
9×12 envelopes
and 2 bus rentals: one to take them "Child Labor Free" shopping at the nearby mall in May,as well as one more bus rental on April 3 to take them to the ODW Regional Conference in Vermont where they will meet with the head of Selamta (this year’s elected Ethiopian orphan project)

Those are The Quincy Kids’ needs.

One never knows what is possible until one tries. The Quincy Kids are trying to change the world (a little) twice this year.

If you can help, we never needed it more.

You had previously written to us back in the Fall asking what our 2010 wish list contains. I hesitated in compiling the list; I hoped this would be the year The Quincy Kids would stand on their own, without their guardian angel, Naomi. However, it is winter, and the kids need help helping others.

I am blessed to work with such idealistic, big-hearted, young activists.
I am blessed to watch these kids use ordinary business supplies to educate and motivate others to action.
The kids are blessed by the encouragement you provide.
You always show faith in these kids.
For the many, many blessings you have provided, I thank you…

I love these kids and their activism,

Ron Adams, proud teacher adviser to

The communities we did visit are stronger than ever in their religious commitment to Judaism. They celebrate holidays and Shabbat and study Jewish subjects, but unfortunately, the provinces lack the teachers and study materials to do consistent studies. They all have some kind of library, and we brought several hundred dollars worth of new Jewish books in Spanish to augment their collections and hopefully inspire the members. …We found the spirit very positive in each community and learned that the JDC is beginning studies for conversion for people in the provinces. Many are married to a Jewish person or are children or grandchildren of a Jewish person, but either from the father’s side or Jewish males lacking the brit milah…

The people we met are seriously involved in their respective synagogues, meeting for weekly services in all three synagogues and daily services at Adath Israel, the Orthodox Synagogue. We visited Adath Israel one evening and about 15 men filled the men’s section and I sat with 6 women behind the glass wall. After services, everyone had a small sandwich and drink (probably their dinner as dinner is usually a small meal), and then they headed home. There is a preschool and after school class run by a Jewishly well-educated woman who just returned from Israel where she and her husband studied Orthodox Jewish life for six months… He is also trained to sheckt both chickens and beef and to be the mohel, as he is the only shomer Shabbat man in Cuba. The only mikve in Cuba is located in the building and the only kosher butcher shop is three blocks away and newly renovated, thanks to a couple of large donations of friends from the U.S.

Centro Sefaradi in Havana is doing well… The community is not growing much but is maintaining its numbers and taking good care of the members, particularly their seniors. …

Both the adult and children’s Sunday school is well attended… We went with them to the Tu b’Shevat tree planting activity in a park in Miramar… They planted twelve trees, watered them, and sat down in classes to discuss the holiday with their respective teachers.

Social group meetings are happening every week in Havana. Centro Sefaradi just finished a yearlong Jewish cooking class and is beginning a quilting and embroidery class based on Jewish subjects.

The Patronato could be called the Cuban Jewish Federation and JCC. There is a youth center for those between 15 and 30 years old. It has a lounge with TV and computers for games, a small kitchen, and a meeting room. Next to it is a storeroom for humanitarian aid received from visitors and a leaders meeting room. At the back of the building, there is a gym with exercise equipment, a room for classes, and bathrooms with showers that serve all members who choose to use it. The main room is the social hall for Beth Shalom, el Gran Synagoga de la Habana that is part of the building. This is where the community has its meals, many groups meet, and various events take place for the whole community, not just the Beth Shalom members. There are many groups visiting this time of year while the weather is cooler. They come into the Patronato carrying their many large bundles of medicines, clothing, over the counter supplies, etc, and drop them in a designated space before sitting down with President Adela Dworin to learn about the community. Meanwhile, upstairs, above the synagogue, next to the Sunday school classrooms and the ORT sponsored computer lab, Dra. Rosa Behar and her two helpers are busy in the pharmacy, organizing the medicines, stocking the shelves, and filling prescriptions for anyone, Jewish or not, who has an Rx. In addition, Jews are given vitamins and over the counter supplies. The shelves are filled with many medicines but lack many others. Vitamins, antibiotics and asthma medicines are in short supply. There are not enough vitamins for everyone in Havana so the people in the provinces receive very little. The other big shortage is adult diapers. Baby diapers are available to buy, as are baby wipes, so we don’t have to schlep them; but adult diapers are impossible to get anywhere. The Bottoms Up program started by Dra. Behar and the Cuba-America Jewish Mission, serve 62 children and their mothers from birth to 3 years old with the help of our friends here in the U.S. We supply diapers, baby wipes, vitamins, and baby toys and ask everyone we know who is going to do the same. After three, the children are taken care of by the JDC through the Sunday school. There are also 6 special needs children with problems of autism, MS, and Downs syndrome. We also help with the needs of these children…

Outside the Jewish community, we observed changes both for the better and worse. Transportation is better…There are also newer cars, mostly government and foreign owned, along with the old classics and the falling apart Ladas. Intercity buses are good and always on time. There are also special buses for traveling tourists but since Cubans can also ride them, there are few seats available…

It feels like half the citizens are repairing homes or planning to do so, and many are buying new furniture. We suspect this is because many have relatives visiting from the U.S. and supply the family with money. There are also many people with cell phones. It costs 10 CUC ($12) every three months but doesn’t seem to stop people. One sees people talking on cell phones everywhere. This is wonderful because there is a great shortage of land lines so many people have not had phone service before this.

The biggest downside in the country is the lack of food variety and health care services. The shelves in the markets are almost empty, being filled with a repetition of the same items. One store might have pasta, another might have some frozen meat and lots of hot dogs. There were no chickens available in Sancti Spiritus when we were there and no eggs available anywhere in Havana the following week. We could not find napkins, peanut butter, or cheese, but could find mayonnaise, sodas, beer, rum, frozen dessert, jam, and sometimes pasta. There were lots of oil and tomato sauce and a good selection of olives and even canned sardines in tomato sauce. Sometimes, there was bread in the market, but there were also bakeries around and everyone can get their ration card bread even though they don’t particularly like it. People get most of their rice and beans in the ration store. They usually can get soap for washing and sometimes there is toilet paper…

Lack of food, medical care, psychiatric hospital, lack of doctors and nurses, lack of supplies and cleanliness, frustrations… the situation is not good for most Cubans…Many Cubans, both those dealing with the health system and doctors working in it complained about the problem. The main complaint of doctors was lack of supplies and cleanliness. They are very choosy where they will go for surgery. There is a shortage of doctors now that so many are being sent overseas and there is a shortage of nurses because few people choose this field of medicine. There are seldom sheets in the hospital and everyone must bring food for their relatives as well as do most of the nursing. There are no adult diapers and some hospitals don’t even have catheters in ICU units. There is a shortage of medicines and even syringes. The current scandal is a situation in the psychiatric hospital which used to be the pride of Cuba and praised throughout the Spanish speaking Americas. The director died a few years ago and since then, the hospital has fallen into disrepair. The hospital windows are broken; there is little food for patients, and hardly any blankets. Early January, when a long and severe cold wave hit, 28 patients died from exposure. Citizens are livid and talk about heads rolling.

Karate and Tai Chi have become popular with classes both indoors and in various parks. Movies are popular, as always, and the week we were there, the big movie was Bastardes Sin Gloria (Inglorious Bastards). On January 27th, there was a national commemoration of the end of the Holocaust In ceremonies and on TV, and both newspapers and TV were reporting on the Israeli aid to Haiti. The Jews of Cuba are very proud.