Dirty, tattered clothes hang from the windows of deteriorating buildings; old, broken-down cars rattle up grimy streets; shattered signs written in Spanish hang over broken storefronts. Welcome to Havana, Cuba! Jennifer Recant had traveled more than 1,000 miles from her home in Wyckoff, New Jersey, to what seemed like a different world. Yet, she sensed something familiar. Despite the poverty-stricken surroundings, six Jewish kids were becoming b'nai mitzvah- just as Jennifer had done six months earlier. And their achievements were possible thanks to Jennifer's generosity.

"I was having my bat mitzvah," says Jennifer, "and I wanted to help Cuban kids have a bar or bat mitzvah also- to give them what I had. I thought it was my responsibility to help."

Jennifer's journey began years earlier when she first heard about the plight of Cuban Jews from her father, who works for the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) -which helps Jews around the world. After Communist dictator Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, Cuba's vibrant Jewish community of 15,000 slowly decayed, leaving only 1,500 Jews today, most living in poverty. In the 1990s, Castro eased regulations, allowing groups like the JDC to help Cuban Jews.

As Jennifer eagerly prepared for her bat mitzvah, she realized that her Cuban peers were being denied the same opportunity. The Cubans simply couldn't afford a Jewish education and so would not fully be able to appreciate the kedushah (holiness) associated with reaching this milestone in their lives. Jennifer decided to donate $600 of her gift money to prepare Cuban kids for their b'nai mitzvah ceremonies.

On June 15, 2002, as she stood on the bimah giving her bat mitzvah d'var torah, Jennifer spoke of the six young Cubans who were beginning their studies on that very day. "I'm going to help these kids," she announced proudly. Her money was going toward Hebrew lessons and to purchase ritual items for the Cubans, including siddurim, tefillin, and tallitot.

Six months later, Jennifer was called up to the bimah again- but this time she was in a Cuban synagogue celebrating with Victor, one of the students she had sponsored, as he became a bar mitzvah. As the prayer leader blessed her for helping Victor and the others prepare to become b'nai mitzvah, Jennifer's eyes filled with tears. "It just touched me so much," she says. "The prayer leader said I was their godmother. It was like I was protecting them and helping them." Victor was overcome with emotion, too. "He was standing on the bimah, reading Torah and crying," Jennifer recalls. "He was so proud and so touched to become a bar mitzvah," says Jennifer, who suddenly appreciated the sacredness of being called to the Torah, especially the first time. "I think that anyone who is Jewish and who wants the opportunity should become a bar or bat mitzvah," she says, her voice rising passionately. "The Cuban kids really wanted it, and it felt wonderful that I could help."