Patty Pina, director of grassroots marketing for Women for Women International, speaks with Marcia Kramer, who is spearheading Temple Ner Tamid’s yearlong $10,000 drive on behalf of the organization.
Photos by Johanna Ginsberg
October 2, 2008
Elizabeth Erwin of Montclair sat down for a few minutes at Temple Ner Tamid in Bloomfield on a recent Sunday afternoon to get to know Jeanette Ndigire M’nyampara of the Democratic Republic of Congo. M’nyampara wasn’t actually in the room, but her portfolio was. Erwin is planning to sponsor the mother of eight for $27 a month for the next year.
Erwin’s sponsorship will provide M’nyampara with direct financial aid, vocational and technical skills training, and classes in rights awareness and advocacy.
Erwin’s support is part of the Reform synagogue’s yearlong effort to raise $10,000 for the organization Women for Women International. Founded in 1993, the Washington- and London-based organization strives to help women like M’nyampara, living in war-torn countries, become productive citizens. WFW has the support of 125 religious organizations including 10 synagogues.
On Sept. 21, Temple Ner Tamid held its second event with Women for Women and kicked off its sponsorship program. After a brief film describing the organization’s work and a question-and-answer session with WFW grassroots marketing officer Patty Pina, women lined up to sponsor women living in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq, Kosovo, Nigeria, and Rwanda.
Elizabeth Erwin of Montclair was among the women at a sponsorship event on Sept. 21 at Ner Tamid. She chose as her “sister” Jeanette Ndigire M’nyampara of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It’s an incredible way of women supporting women across the ocean,” said Erwin, describing what attracted her to sign on to help her new “sister.”
“She has eight children. All of them are girls except for one boy, and the boy is the only one receiving an education. She can’t afford to give the girls education and therefore they’re not getting any. So that just kind of struck me. So I’m really happy to give them a little bit of money.”
About 30 people — mostly women with a few tweens and one or two men — came to the event.
Rabbi Steven Kushner said he was looking for a project that would interest women in the congregation after its sisterhood folded last year. He heard about a similar project at the nearby Unitarian Universalist Church at Montclair and thought it was well suited for Ner Tamid.
Congregant Marcia Kramer, who agreed to spearhead the project, described her own WFW sister, Miradije Berisha from Kosovo, and held up the square of crocheted lace Berisha had crafted for the Montclair resident, which will be displayed, along with letters from those being sponsored, in a case in the synagogue. (After participating for a year, Berisha has graduated from the program; Kramer now has a new “sister,” Jaqueline Cikwanine M’mulimbwa from Congo.)
Kushner has no qualms about congregants spending a year supporting an organization with no ties to the Jewish community.
“Hillel said, ‘If I am only for myself, what am I?’” said Kushner, quoting the first-century Jewish sage.
“A benchmark of Reform Judaism has always been not to put qualifying labels on who is deserving of our tzedaka. The fact that it is not a Jewish organization and does not serve the Jewish religion is completely irrelevant. If we take seriously the teaching that we are all created in God’s image, then we should all count.
“These women are desperately in need, and we are pleased to do it.”
One congregant pointed out that many of the countries served by Women for Women International are known for their lack of support for Israel. In response, the rabbi suggested that this was a reason not to curtail helping those countries’ women, but to redouble involvement and perhaps change people’s attitudes.
Kushner did insist that organizers find out if WFW has a “political agenda.” “We were assured this program is entirely apolitical,” he said. And given that, he added, “what better way to help resolve the [anti-Zionist] attitude than for people to see they are being cared for by Jews?”
Organizers will meet Oct. 5 to work on programming for the project for the rest of the year.
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