Trivia Rocks

Thursday, July 12, 6:30 p.m.

Deerfield Beach Percy White Library

837 E. Hillsboro Blvd.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

The theme of the contest is “ROCK,” so trivia questions can range from Archeology, Geology, Paleontology and, of course, Rock n’ Roll music. This is perfect for the “Libraries Rock” theme happening now. One highlight will include “Fill in the Blank” where a contestant can earn prize points for singing the lost lyrics of a song. Prizes will be awarded to the Trivia Rocks Champion.

Summer Series —

Liverpool Live-A Tribute to the Beatles

Friday, July 13, 8 to 11 p.m.

Mizner Park Amphitheater

590 Plaza Real

Boca Raton, FL 33432

Has it been a Hard Day’s Night? Have you been working like a dog? Take some time out and enjoy this free concert at Mizner Park. Groovy! Bring the whole family, and a blanket or chair. It will be a gas! FYI: Their next concert in this series on July 27, from 8 to 11 p.m. will be Fleetwood Mac tribute! For more info., visit www.mizneramp.com.

Tree giveaway

Saturday, July 14 & 21, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

City of Pompano Beach Nursery

1190 NE 3 Ave.

Pompano Beach, FL 33060

The city will give away two trees per residence on a first-come, first-serve basis. To qualify for a free tree, you must live within the Pompano city limits and provide identification, such as a driver’s license or water bill to verify your residency. Each resident will be given a choice among many varieties, including Purple Tabebuia, Live Oak, Christmas Palm, Triangle Palm, Silver Buttonwood, Clusia Rosea, Golden Tabebuia and Phoenix Sylvestris Palm.

7th Annual Boca Burger Battle

Saturday, July 14, 7 p.m. (VIP, 6 p.m)

Sanborn Square Park

72 N. Federal Hwy.

Boca Raton, FL 33432

Burger lovers delight! This is your event. Eat and drink to your heart’s content and pick who you think has the Best Battle Burger. Then, you can see who the judges pick for Best Grill Master and Best Alternative Grill Master. This is also a great time to try a variety of wines, craft beer and other spirits while mingling with the crowd. General Admission tickets are $50 per person and VIP tickets are Pre-Sale $75/Regular $125 per person. VIP ticket holders receive unlimited food and drink tastings and enjoy early bird entry at 6 p.m., instead of 7 p.m. This is a 21 + year old event from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Please, no pets. Event is rain or shine! You can purchase tickets online at www.bocaburgerbattle.com or call 561-338-7594.

Pompano Budget Presentation & Workshop

Monday, July 16, 9 a.m.

City Commission Chambers

100 W. Atlantic Blvd.

Pompano Beach, FL 33060

The Budget Workshop will include a presentation and discussion of the recommended Fiscal Year 2019 budget. After the presentation and public input, the commission will recess for 30 minutes and reconvene in the City Manager’s Conference Room on the 4th floor of City Hall for discussions, proposed capital improvement projects and the fiscal year 2019 recommended operating budget. If more time is necessary, the commission will reconvene on Tuesday, July 17 in City Hall in the City Manager’s 4th Floor Conference Room beginning at 9 a.m. to continue budget discussions.

Save the Date:

Florida Panthers Reading Tour

Friday, July 20, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Monday, July 30, 2 to 5 p.m.

Hockey lovers will have fun at this event. The Florida Panthers will be going to libraries to read to students. On Friday, July 20, they will be at the Pompano Beach Library and Culture Center, 50 W. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach, FL 33060. On Monday, July 30, they will be at the Deerfield Beach Percy White Library, 837 E. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, visit www.floridapanthers.com/readingtour.

Summer Series —

‘80s Throwback Game Night

Friday, July 20, 7 to 10 p.m.

Mizner Park Amphitheater

590 Plaza Real

Boca Raton, FL 33432

Whoa, radical! Mizner Park will be holding a free Throwback Game Night for all you lovers of the 1980s. They had one last month and now they are doing it again. Families can enjoy some rockin’ ‘80s tunes while playing games like arcade games, carnival games, Jenga, cornhole, mini golf, an Operation type game, Whack-a-Mole and more. Kids can like totally get creative with Lite Brite! This is a really fun event for the whole family. Don’t be a neo-maxi-zoom-dweebie! Motor on down to Mizner Park for some retro goodness. www.mizneramp.com

Strike Out Child Abuse

Sunday, July 22, 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Sawgrass Lanes

8501 N. University Dr.

Tamarac, FL 33341

Bring the whole family for the Family Bowl-A-Thon. There will be a photo booth, magician, balloon twisters, face painters and more. Register a team today. Lunch will be provided. This Pompano Beach Exchange Club event benefits various children’s charities and helps prevent child abuse. For more information or to register, visit www.one.bidpal.net/exchangeclubbowling/welcome.

B’nai B’rithTenants Association Fundraiser

Saturday, Aug. 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

B’nal B’rith Apartments

299 SW 3 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Enjoy food, beverages, goodies, face painting, bounce house, pony rides, raffle for flat screen TV, auction & more. Proceeds benefit tenants association. For more info., call 954-426-5577.

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.— James 5:13 (NLT)

No one is exempt from going through bad times, but please do not forget that we have many good times also. Whether everything is great or it totally stinks, God should always have our attention. Last Sunday when I went to church, I knew I was in for a great day. How could I not be? I was in God’s House, the “Happiest Place on Earth.” However, as I looked around at this happy place, I started to think. In this happy place, there was a crying child, a man who just lost a family member to Cancer, a young woman going through a divorce and a preacher that felt each of their pain. I couldn’t help but think, even in God’s House, the happiest place on earth, there is still suffering and hurting people. Check out Psalms Chapter 20 (Awesome):

1 In times of trouble, may the LORD respond to your cry. May the God of Israel keep you safe from all harm.

2 May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem.

3 May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

4 May he grant your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans.

5 May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory, flying banners to honor our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed king. He will answer him from his holy heaven and rescue him by his great power.

7 Some nations boast of their armies and weapons, but we boast in the LORD our God.

8 Those nations will fall down and collapse, but we will rise up and stand firm.

9 Give victory to our king, O LORD! Respond to our cry for help.

— Psalms 20 (NLT)

For some, our happiest place is with our family and friends, or taking a walk on the beach. We cannot escape suffering; no matter how hard we try, we are not exempt. Sometimes, suffering is used for correcting; sometimes, it is used for God’s glory; sometimes, it is used to build our character, and sometimes one person suffers for another’s benefit. Yet, there are times when we really don’t understand why others or we ourselves are suffering. Like Job from the Bible, we must seek to trust God and endure because we win when we do! We have a happy place found in the presence of the Lord. If God could hear Jonah’s cry from inside the whale, then I am sure he can hear your cry. One thing is for sure: if we are suffering in any way, then we should be praying and talking to God a lot. What do you think?

Perhaps you are in a season of hurt or suffering right now. In this moment, it may not be clear why your suffering is happening. Your role in this season is to spend time with and reach out to God, knowing that He will help you through this trial with His strength. In this way, at the end of the day, you will be able to rejoice in who God is. James 5:13 says we should pray and praise God during the good times and the bad times. In good or bad times, we better be spending time with God. Try happiness … it is found in the presence of the Lord.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino is a pastor at Christian Love Fellowship Church, located at 801 SE 10 St. in Deerfield Beach. www.clfdeerfield.com.

By Karen Lustgarten

Ever wonder what the restricted areas in North Broward’s top industries are like? What makes big businesses and government entities in this region tick and how can you get private backstage tour tickets to them? Leadership North Broward (LNB), in conjunction with the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber of Commerce, is the way. This executive local leadership program is designed to inform and empower participants to greater business success by connecting with government and business decision makers in the region.

One day a month for seven months, Leadership North Broward 2018 participants have been experiencing a full itinerary of seminars, field trips and restricted guided tours through the inner workings of eight different industry sectors that impact our region economically, including tourism, public service (police, S.W.A.T. team, fire-rescue tours), health services (inner workings of area hospitals), local and regional government day, big businesses (Whole Foods docking/deliveries) and education entities.

June’s industry field trip featured transportation sites: two executive airports and Port Everglades — not the popular cruise side, but the restricted cargo side.

Did you know that 60 percent of Pompano Beach Air Park, the executive airport for private aircraft, is devoted to flight training with helicopters and small planes? It also provides aircraft rentals and charters, scenic rides, aerial photography and mapping/surveying. Steve Rocco, Air Park manager, traced the 71-year history and importance of the facility to the local area, including air ambulance and search/rescue services.

The Air Park also is home to storage hangers, aircraft sales, maintenance and avionics repairs when planes break down. And, the next time you see the Goodyear Blimp in the sky, know that its hangar home is adjacent to the Air Park.

Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport, in contrast, handles large private planes up to 737s. LNB participants were treated to an interactive presentation by the airport’s Assistant Manager Carlton Harrison and Karen Reese about the history and growth of this economic engine on June 21. Did you know that the executive airport has its own police substation, a U.S. Customs and Border protection facility, 24-hour airport security, a 24-hour FAA Air Traffic Control Tower, 24-hour aircraft rescue and firefighting services? It’s also Foreign Trade Zone 241, which means big duty-free benefits to companies here doing international business.

We were driven around this general aviation city within a city with 5,100 employees. Noteworthy was the discussion about excellent career opportunities in aviation, especially at the airport. Both executives emphasized the need for college graduates in airport-related fields and the partnerships forming with local colleges to ensure more graduates enter this field.

An escorted bus tour of Port Everglades’ highly restricted cargo area ended the day. This powerhouse port does more than $22 billion in trade with the world. We were treated to a backstage guided tour covering acres of cargo area where complex cranes and equipment were moving and stacking huge containers that come off ships.

A trip to the top of the Harbor Master Tower, the air traffic control tower of the sea, topped the day. The harbor master shared how he monitors, on multiple large computer screens, hundreds of ships coming, going and docked at the port, along with activity in and around it. The sophisticated operation in his perch with a 360-degree view was impressive.

Participant Johnathan Saluk, from American Credit Card Processing, found the experience worthwhile.

“You get to see places and businesses you normally don’t see and it’s good networking with members in the group,” he said. “Every day we went out there was so much going on behind the scenes like at the docks, the satellite beacons, the new technology at the Broward Sherriff’s office.”

The next Leadership North Broward starts January 2019. Applications are accepted now. LNB costs $600 for members of the chamber and $1000 for non-members. But it is $350 for an annual Chamber membership, so you get both for the price of one and save $50! For more information/registration call the Greater Pompano Beach Chamber at 954-946-2940 or e-mail Cagnone@pompanobeachchamber.com.

Karen Lustgarten is president of Multi-Media Works, a multiple award-winning media company specializing in video PR, print and social media with offices in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. She has won awards for writing/producing videos for businesses and nonprofits, and for website content. Karen founded a newspaper in Washington, DC and was a syndicated columnist. www.multi-mediaworks.com.

Join the Greater Deerfield Beach Chamber on July 10 for a Networking Morning, from 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Held at State Farm (843 SE 8 St., in Deerfield Beach), this event is a great way to start your day. Bring business cards, learn more about the Chamber and promote your business while enjoying some coffee and pastries! Click here to register:https://deerfieldchamber.chambermaster.com/eventregistration/register/4543

You are hereby notified that the Community Redevelopment Agency meeting, scheduled to be held Tuesday, July 10 at 7 p.m. at the City Commission Chambers of the City Hall Complex, located at 150 NE 2 Ave., in Deerfield Beach has been canceled.

For additional information on the agenda items for the CRA meeting, please call 954-480-4262 or visit www.deerfield-beach.com.

By Gary Curreri

Host Deerfield Beach rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to pull out a 10-9 victory over Ft. Lauderdale and capture the District 10 Little League Junior Division Championship last week.

The Deerfield Beach Mets started their comeback with two runs in the bottom of the third and added four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 6-5 lead as Lorenzo Feliciano, Brock Buerosse, and Janelle Calvet all contributed in the big inning with RBIs.

After Deerfield added another run in the bottom of the fifth, Ft. Lauderdale rallied to take a 9-7 lead in the top of the six with four runs. Undaunted, the Mets pulled ahead for good, scoring three runs of their own and Feliciano broke the 9-9 deadlock with a fielder’s choice that scored Maxwell Thompson from third with what proved to be the winning run.

“It’s my first championship and it is really cool,” said Deerfield Beach Little League Junior Division manager Jason Siracusa, who also took over this year as the league president. This is his third year as an All-Star manager.

“It was like a six day a week, seven day a week ordeal between coaching a team, running the league, and also coaching T-Ball, I was all over the place.”

“In the end, it was worth it,” Siracusa said. “We made a lot of changes to the league and the league is shaping up and ending the year with a championship is pretty special.”

Calvet, who went 3 for 4 at the plate and threw out a runner stealing second to get the first out in the top of the seventh (her cousin is Colin Calvet), plays on an all-girls travel baseball team in addition to the All-Stars. Buerosse had two hits and a walk for Deerfield Beach.

Keanu Siracusa went 4-1/3 innings and allowed five runs – just two earned – on two hits while striking out seven for the Mets. Gio Caffro and Neile Thomas came on in relief and closed the door on the Indians to win the championship.

Manager Siracusa said the Junior Division tournament featured teams from Deerfield Beach, Parkland, Coral Springs and Ft. Lauderdale. Deerfield Beach had 12 players on its roster but played the final with just nine players due to conflicts.

Deerfield Beach opened district play with a 1-0, extra-inning win over Ft. Lauderdale and then cruised past Coral Springs American, 12-2, before falling 7-4 to Ft. Lauderdale to set up the winner take all matchup last Friday night.

“We had better depth in pitching,” Siracusa said. “It was really an across the board team effort.”

“ We had a team of players that have played together for several years and they all back each other up,” Siracusa added. “They have a want-to-win mentality. We dominated the league this year going 13-1 with the only loss to Ft. Lauderdale 13-1. We outscored our opponents, 179-24. Our pitching super dominated everyone. Obviously, it can’t get any better than this. From here on, the rest is icing on the cake.”

Deerfield Beach will next play in the Sectional competition on July 20 in Tallahassee.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

With very little surprise, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dominated the box office. It is soon to be replaced by Ant-Man and the Wasp this week.

As I said last week, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible (IMAX), for this is the only opportunity one will get to see a Tyrannosaurus Rex or an Apatosaurus life-sized.

Also at IMAX (at the Museum of Discovery & Science in Ft. Lauderdale) is Backyard Wilderness 3D , a simple and entertaining documentary. Set in a suburban New York, we seem to ride on the back of a bird, who spies Katie, a teenage girl working on her computer. Katie is writing a report about nature and can’t seem to find all the information on the Internet.

As the snow melts, Katie goes exploring and witnesses the miracles of nature in her own backyard. As the bird’s eggs hatch, we see the hatchlings eat their first meal and instinctively attempt their first flight. As coyotes await the opportunity to seize a baby deer, ticket buyers are reminded about the savagery outside the safety of the front door. As the narrative reminds us, there are not villains nor victims in nature — simply predators and prey.

With a running time of less than an hour, Backyard Wilderness 3D does not feel rushed as we follow the cycle of the four seasons. Taking a cue from Henry David Thoreau’s nature study, Walden, Backyard Wilderness 3D will inspire you to step outside your door and observe our own tropical ecosystem.

While the emphasis on the 4th of July is baseball, hot dogs, American music and fireworks, the motion picture industry usually tries to release a special movie on this special holiday. Ironically, this 4th of July only one motion picture opened and it seems to be a subversive choice, The First Purge, which is the fourth movie of the dystopian horror franchise.

The core assertion of The Purge series is that crime (including murder) is legal for 12 hours a year. This controlled anarchy is examined from a sociopolitical perspective, while the fundamentals of horror movie jump scares remain intact. While The Purge series was thought to have concluded two years ago with The Purge: Election Year, this new entry opening this week is being used to set up a new cable television program in September.

Narrated by Natalie Portman, Eating Animals is due to locally release in July. This documentary looks at how the meat-packing industry has changed in the past century. With the science of cloning and harmful food additives, one wonders if we will give up our hot dogs and hamburgers and go vegan after viewing this film.

Deerfield Beach

June 19: A man reported that his car was involved in an accident. Immediately following the accident someone stole shoes valued at $65 from his car. The incident was reported at 631 Anderson Cir.

June 19: A man reported that someone broke into his vehicle and stole $2,400 worth of tools at 3901 NW 9 Ave.

June 19: A woman reported that she paid $10,286 to an electrical contractor for work that was never done. The incident was reported at 4314 NW 9 Ave.

June 19: A man was arrested and charged with felony theft and two active warrants at Marshalls at 3852 W. Hillsboro Blvd.

June 19: A woman reported that someone stole her vehicle from an apartment parking lot at 466 Lock Rd.

Lighthouse Point

June 6: The manager said a subject was walking around the store at 2450 N. Federal Hwy. for an hour. The subject then went into a bathroom and ate food. He told police he forgot his debit card and was waiting for his girlfriend to arrive to pay for it. The girlfriend arrived a short time later and paid for the items.

June 6: A subject took food items and left the store at 3780 N. Federal Hwy. The subject was apprehended outside the store and the food valued at $4 was recovered.

June 6: A male subject stole items from the store at 3780 N. Federal Hwy. and fled without paying for them.

(This is a partial list. For Deerfield Beach Crime Watch in full, visit www.DFB.City and click on “Sign Me Up” to receive the city wide report.)

5th of July Beach Cleanup

Thursday, July 5, 8 to 10 a.m.

Chickee Hut

71 S Ocean Way.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Join the City for a cleanup and help them keep Deerfield Beach clean and green. The cleanup will begin at the chickee hut across from the Fire Station. Snacks and water will be provided to all volunteers. Parking passes for the duration of the event will also be available to the first 25 volunteers.

FLORIDA Rx CARD Presentation

Tuesday, July 10, 10 to 11:30 a.m.

Center for Active Aging

227 NW 2 St.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Having difficulty affording prescription medication? Florida Rx Card educates families on how the program can be of help with Medicare, Medicaid, Prior Authorizations /Step Therapy, Cosmetic & Non-Medically necessary drugs, OTCs (Over the Counter) and Pet Medications. For more information, call 954-480-4446.

District 4 Saturday Hours

Saturday, July 7, 10 a.m. to noon

City Hall

150 NE 2 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Commissioner Drosky will be available to meet with constituents on an appointment basis. To schedule an appointment, please contact the City Manager’s Office at 954-480-4201

Community Redevelopment Agency meets

Tuesday, July 10, 7 to 8 p.m.

City Hall Commission Chambers

City Hall

150 NE 2 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Pompano Budget Presentation & Workshop

Monday, July 16, 9 a.m.

City Commission Chambers

100 W. Atlantic Blvd.

Pompano Beach, FL 33060

The Budget Workshop will include a presentation and discussion of the recommended Fiscal Year 2019 budget. After the presentation and public input, the commission will recess for 30 minutes and reconvene in the City Manager’s Conference Room on the 4th floor of City Hall for discussions, proposed capital improvement projects and the fiscal year 2019 recommended operating budget. If more time is necessary, the commission will reconvene on Tuesday, July 17 in City Hall in the City Manager’s 4th Floor Conference Room beginning at 9 a.m. to continue budget discussions.

Save the Date:

B’nai B’rith Tenants Association Fundraiser

Saturday, Aug. 8, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

B’nal B’rith Apartments

299 SW 3 Ave.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Enjoy food, beverages, goodies, face painting, bounce house, pony rides, raffle for flat screen TV, auction & more. Proceeds benefit tenants Association. For more info., call 954-426-5577.

Chair Yoga classes

The Center for Active Aging

227 NW 2 St.

Deerfield Beach, FL 33441

Seeking to Transform your Health and Decrease Stress? Join one of Chair Yoga classes. They have Sit N’ Fit Chair Yoga on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. They also have Chair Yoga for Young at Heart Seniors on Tuesdays & Thursdays from 10:45 to 11:30 a.m. For information, please contact the Health Support Office at 954-480-4446.

Save the Date:

7th Annual Boca Burger Battle

Saturday, July 14, 7 p.m. (VIP, 6 p.m)

Sanborn Square Park

72 N. Federal Hwy.

Boca Raton, FL 33432

It is that time again… time for top area chefs to grill up their best burgers to try to get the coveted win. Meet the contenders: M.E.A.T. Eatery & Taproom, Shake Shack, Flashback Diner, Morton’s Steak House, Big Joe’s Burgers and Wings, Kapow Noodle Bar, Burton’s Grill & Bar, TooJay’s Gourmet Deli, Rockn Angels, Crazy Uncle Mike’s, Burger Craze, Tucker Duke’s Lunchbox, ROK:BRGR and Batch Gastropub, Cheffrey Eats Food Truck, Funky Buddha & more! Those who are coming to compete will travel from far and wide, and some from not so far away… Some are from as far distant as South Beach and West Palm Beach, while others are right here in Deerfield Beach and Boca Raton.

Each hand-picked chef will create their grilling masterpieces and present them to a prestigious table of Grill Master Judges, which includes a few well known “burger connoisseurs” like Rey De La Osa, Chief Grill Master Team Captain from Publix Aprons Cooking School, Jamie Frankel from Burgers by the Beach and (his new blog “Floridian Beer Society”), Jan Norris from JanNorris.com, Alex Callegari from “The Firefighter Foodie,” Rob Adler from “Weekend Broward,” Former Commissioner Robert S. Weinroth from City of Boca Raton and Danny Rivera from BIG 1059.

Judges will pick the Best Grill Master and Best Alternative Grill Master while the guests will vote with their wooden chip for “People’s Choice” and will determine the champion to hold the title as the Best Battle Burger.

This event is more than just burgers. There are also craft beers and other spirits to enjoy, plus other goodies to sample while perusing vendor booths.

A portion of proceeds benefit PROPEL (People Reaching Out to Provide Education and Leadership), a non-profit located in Boca Raton, which offers weekly events for kids in the area of arts, education and recreation.

The Boca Burger Battle is presented by WineEvents.com, and produced by the south Florida event production company BocaRaton.com & The BITES! Network, which also produces the Boca Raton Wine and Food Festival every November.

General Admission tickets are $50 per person and VIP tickets are Pre-Sale $75/ Regular $125 per person. VIP ticket holders receive unlimited food and drink tastings and enjoy early bird entry at 6 p.m., instead of 7 p.m. This is a 21 + year old event from 6 to 10 p.m. PLEASE, No Pets. Event is Rain or Shine! So, NO refunds, Battle Fans… You can purchase Tickets Online at www.bocaburgerbattle.com or call 561-338-7594.

I am going to tell you today the story about Jerry Sternin, one man who is responsible for saving the lives of tens of thousands of children, not a generation ago, but on our very own watch. (He died in 2008.)

When Jerry Sternin arrived in Vietnam, the welcome was rather chilly. The government had invited his employer, “Save the Children,” the international organization that helps kids in need, to open an office in the country in 1990 to fight malnutrition. But the foreign minister let Sternin know that not everyone in the government appreciated his presence. The minister told him, “You have six months to make a difference.”

Sternin had traveled to the country with his wife and 10-year-old son. None of them spoke the language.

“We were like orphans at the airport when we arrived in Vietnam,” he said. “We had no idea what we were going to do.”

Sternin had minimal staff and meager resources. And he knew that nobody wanted him.

The conventional wisdom was that malnutrition was the result of an intertwined set of problems. Sanitation was poor; poverty was nearly universal and clean water was not readily available. The rural people tended to be ignorant about nutrition.

That analysis was, in Sternin’s judgment, TBU — true but useless.

“Millions of kids can’t wait for those issues to be addressed,” he said.

If addressing malnutrition required ending poverty, purifying water and building sanitation systems, then it would never happen — especially in six months, with virtually no money to spend.

Ignoring the experts, Sternin traveled to a local village and called together all the village’s mothers. He asked for their assistance in finding ways to nourish their kids better, and they agreed to help. As the first step, they went out in teams to weigh and measure every child in the village. Sadly, 64 percent of the children were malnourished.

He asked them, “Did you find any very, very poor kids who are bigger and healthier than the typical child?”

The women nodded and said, “Có, có, có.” (Yes, yes, yes.)

“Then let’s go see what they’re doing.”

Sternin’s strategy was to search the community for bright spots. If some kids were healthy, despite their disadvantages, then that meant something important. Malnourishment was not inevitable.

Armed with that understanding, the mothers then observed the homes of the bright-spot kids, and, alert for any deviations, they noticed some unexpected habits. For one thing, bright-spot moms were feeding their kids four meals a day (using the same amount of food as other moms but spreading it across four servings rather than two). The larger twice-a-day meals eaten by most families turned out to be a mistake for children, because their malnourished stomachs couldn’t process that much food at one time.

The style of eating was also different. Most parents believed that their kids understood their own needs and would feed themselves appropriately from a communal bowl. But the healthy kids were fed more actively — by hand if necessary. The children were even encouraged to eat when they were sick, which was not the norm. What is more, these parents were washing the hands of their children before eating.

Most interesting, the healthy kids were eating different kinds of food. The bright-spot mothers tossed in sweet-potato greens, which were considered a low-class food, to their children’s dishes. They also put into the kid’s rice tiny crabs which they found in the Vietnam rice paddies and were considered adult food.

These dietary improvisations, however strange or “low class,” were doing something precious; adding sorely needed protein and vitamins to the children’s diet. Without knowing it, these parents provided important nutrients for their children: protein, iron and calcium.

Jerry Sternin refused to make a formal announcement, knowing that it would be futile. Instead the community designed a program in which 50 malnourished families, in groups of 10, would meet at a hut each day and prepare food together. The families were required to bring sweet-potato greens and crab. The mothers washed their hands with soap and cooked the meal together.

Dozens of experts had analyzed the situation in Vietnam, agonizing over the problems—the water supply, the sanitation, the poverty, the ignorance. They’d written position papers and research documents and development plans, but they hadn’t changed a thing.

Six months after Sternin’s visit to the Vietnamese village, 65 percent of the kids were better nourished, and they stayed that way. Within a short time, the program reached 2.2 million Vietnamese people in 265 villages. Malnutrition in Vietnam was diminished by 85 percent!

Today we face a battle where children are starving right here in America. Not physically but spiritually and morally!

We must find the bright spot kids in our society, learn from them and do everything in our power to stop the starving children. We must devote ourselves consistently to our children’s health and well-being. By studying each child and giving them what they need individually, we will change the future for our children.

Rabbi Tzvi Dechter is the director of Chabad of North Broward Beaches, located in the Venetian Isle Shopping Center at 2025 E. Sample Rd. in Lighthouse Point. For all upcoming events, please visit www.JewishLHP.com.