From Guatemala To Kol Ami: Hand-Made Kippot

 

Since our founding, Congregation Kol Ami has aimed to live up to our name—to be a "voice of the people," speaking out and working to build a world of justice and peace. One of our ongoing projects has been supporting a partner community village of San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala. Since 2014 our Congregation has partnered with a wonderful non-profit Nueva Generacion, founded and led by Cindy Schneider. Along with our sister congregation Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, North Carolina, Kol Ami members have gone on missions to Guatemala building homes, leading workshops, tutoring the children of the village, and bringing much needed school supplies, clothing and shoes to our friends in the Village. Our temple and members have " sponsored" several of the young people each year so that they can have get the education that they need.  (For more information on this https://nuevagen.org/sponsor-a-child.html)

 

The story of these 'Guatamalan Kippot'  brought back from "our village' is a way to help support fundraising for the Guatamalan community village.  Our friend, Cindy  who is active in her congregation in Raleigh, brought the idea  of making kippot to three sisters in the village.  Guatamalan women are known for their weaving and each region and village have their own unique designs.  This would be an opportunity to expand their work.  The three sisters  had all gone through school on scholarships provided by Nueva Generacion and they are now teachers in the village. They taught themselves how to weave kippot through the internet. The sisters create all of the designs themselves so each one is different and unique. It takes about two hours to make each Kippah. The sisters were very grateful for the temple’s order because they use their earnings from these kippot to purchase materials for their classroom which they have to provide themselves! 

 

"Rabbi Eger ordered [the kippot] around the time I arrived in Guatemala," says our member Steve Karbelnig, who brought them here to West Hollywood. "They were ready by the time I had to leave Guatemala in mid March, 2020 because of the pandemic so I was the one who brought them back on the plane with me and I delivered them to the temple." Steve has dedicated so much time and effort to this project he now has become a board member of Nueva Generacion deepening our Congregation's ties to this important work. 

 

Please consider buying one of these beautiful Kipport to help us continue our important work with the people of San Antonio Aguas Calientes and Nueva Generacion