Only a few years ago, Marcelo, an architect, and Silvina, who led marketing seminars for business executives, were a thriving middle-class couple in Argentina. They supplemented their income with a family-owned company offering computer courses.

Now, they are struggling to put food on the table for themselves and their two children, three-year-old Jessica and eight-month-old Uriel. As the country's economy disintegrated, tough times got tougher. By the time Uriel was born, the refrigerator and pantry were empty. Marcelo sought help at a social assistance center sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), which receives funds from the United Jewish Appeal of MetroWest NJ. The center gave them food vouchers and money for basic expenses.

Silvina now spends most of her days at the JDC's Ariel Job Center, sending out her resume. The printer at home hasn't been turned on for a year, because they can't afford to replace the ink cartridge.

There is a bright spot in their lives. Their daughter, Jessica, attends the Shalom Aleichem Jewish school on a scholarship that covers 70 percent of her tuition. Despite their hardships, Jewish education for their children remains a top priority.

Today, in Argentina there are thousands of Jewish families like Marcelo and Silvina, for whom a middle-class lifestyle now seems like ancient history. United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ has formed a special relationship with Tucuman, an agricultural province in the northwest, that has been especially hard-hit by the economy's collapse. Together with JDC and the Jewish Agency, MetroWest is providing job training, food packages, clothing, emergency cash assistance, social workers to help people deal with the psychological impact of the crisis, and resources to maintain the quality of Jewish life.