elegapza neon i OP d buddho nirvana for your body and soul TM co)111 VITIE MI UT JANUARY 23-25 eleganza boutique www.shopeleganzaboutique.com ,assas• 6393 Orchard Lake Rd, West Bloomfield, MI Inside Orchard Mall • (248) 737-2666 uper Bo Fe 3 0- 20- 10- 50 4 - Get your ad in now to start promoting your Super Bowl specials! Our readers are looking for places to go with their friends, catering services, snacks and all kinds of stuff for their own parties!! Call now to reserve your space! 248-351-5107 38 January 16 • 2014 JN >> ... Next Generation ... Saving Lives from page 37 celebrated with special ceremonial coffee and bread. The presence of the ferenji (white foreigner in Amharic, Ethiopia's national language) has changed the opinion of the importance of education amongst the villagers. Just a few years ago, parents were against sending their children to school because they needed their help in the fields and with cattle (boys) or to fetch water and care for the younger siblings (girls). Now that they see white people traveling into their village to physically build a school, they recognize education is something important for their children's future. Children who finish primary school are increasingly more likely to continue their studies and change the pattern of their family. JDC has partnered with Unity College in Addis Ababa and provides scholarships for women who come from no or low-income families. These scholarship recipients attend a one-year preparatory class prior to admission to increase their readiness and skills. We met with these women, many from villages similar to Ambover, and asked their opinion on education in Ethiopia. Their criticisms were of things we take for granted such as needing schools closer to the villages where people live and needing teachers who are properly trained in the material they are teaching. One woman I met was the youngest in her family. She said that her older sisters did not have this opportunity to go to school and continue their education because her parents did not see education as something important at the time. The women who received these scholarships recognize they are changing their lives. They will be able to get a job and care for themselves and their families. They are working to break the pattern of poverty in their families. Why does JDC allocate 10 percent of its budget to helping non-Jewish communities? It is in the spirit of tikkun olam, humanity's shared responsibility to heal, repair and transform the world. Deuteronomy 15:11 says: "For there will never cease to be needy ones in your land, which is why I command you: open your hand to the poor and needy kinsman in your land." The Torah and Jewish law display extraordinary sensitivity to the needs of the poor and the underprivileged. It is important to take care of our local and global Jewish communities, but it is also important to take care of those who would not otherwise have a voice. ❑ Kelli Saperstein of Detroit was the U.S. mission chair. Information on JDC can be found at www.jdc.org. Information on Entwine can be found at www.jdcentwine. org. Information on Dr. Hodes and his work in Ethiopia can be found at www.rickhodes. org. Shall We Dance? NEXTGen Detroit hosts salsa dancing date night for young Jewish couples. N EXTGen Detroit's Couples Committee, co-chaired by Ben Handelsmen and Melissa Gordon, will host a couples' salsa dancing date night event 8-11 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio, 2172 Franklin Road, Bloomfield Hills. More than 40 Jewish NEXTGen couples between the ages of 21-45 are expected to attend. They will enjoy delicious salsa-themed lite bites by Chef Cari Kosher Catering and meet other Jewish couples by participating in a group salsa dancing lesson and couples mixer. All couples will receive a 20-percent-off voucher to the Fred Astaire Dance Studio and the opportunity to win a complimentary private dance lesson. Date night attire and flat shoes are required. The cost is $36 per couple until Jan. 19 and $40 per couple Jan. 20-25. For more information, contact Tovi Snapstailer at Snapstailer@jfmd.org or (248) 203-1474. Look Out, New Orleans NEXTGen Detroit heads down south for TribeFest 2014. p articipants from Detroit will be flying down to New Orleans March 16-18 for TribeFest, a three-day festival where young Jews, ages 22- 45, from across the continent come together to share and explore their culture, community, identity and faith. More than 1,800 people from 108 communities will be in attendance. The program includes incredible guest speakers, networking with some of the finest Jews in the world and an awesome city to explore, New Orleans! Last year, guess who had the biggest presence? That's right. DETROIT! This year, the plan is to reclaim the title and show the world why Jewish Detroit is the strong, fun and committed community it is. Leading NEXTGen Detroit to New Orleans will be event chairs Rachel Lachover and Jared Goldman. You can check out highlights from TribeFest 2012 at www.tribefest.org . If you're interested in attending TribeFest, contact Rachel Taubman at Taubman@jfmd.org or (248) 205-2545 for details. Subsidies are available.