Jewish boy lives his spiritual values

Aryeh Berkovits, 10, lives in Sydney, Australia. He saw homeless people sleeping on the streets, and wanted to help. Why? "One of the Jewish values is caring and kindness, so I thought I'd take that into mind and make a portable homeless house to help other people," he said. He started with a basic model, a box built around a bed, and adapted it to a homeless person, giving sunlight through the roof, solar energy, water catchment, and comfort.

                                                                                                             Facebook / Sophie Cotsis
His teacher at Kesser Torah College, Colin May, helped him workshop the project, which is made of recyclable materials and sits on wheels. The small unit took Aryeh seven days to build, and cost him $200. With help from the Sydney Alliance and Jewish House, Aryeh took his shelter to the New South Wales parliament. "I went to the back of the parliament house to share the house and ideas with some politicians," he said. "I think they were proud."