The Information Center for Repatriate\'s Rights at the Chabad Lubavitcher Center in Haifa announces an urgent fundraiser for food and basic necessities for new repatriates who arrived in Israel after the beginning of hostilities in Ukraine.
In order to convey the importance of the mission entrusted to us, to show who comes to Israel from the occupied territories, from under shelling, leaving or losing everything acquired in life, we share with you the story of one family, a family that turned for help to “Chabad Be Aliya” a little less than a year ago.
Marina is 36 years old, she arrived with her two sons from Mariupol in April 2022, the family doesn’t have any relatives in Israel. Marina agreed to share her very personal story of repatriation because she understands that the more people hear and learn about the state and life situation of thousands of repatriates, they will soon understand how important it is to help right now!
"Chabad Be Aliya" gave us food, provided me and the children with warm clothes, we received warm blankets, essentials for the home. And today, after almost a year, Chabad continues to help, my eldest son is placed in a school with an after-school program, he gets a hot lunch every day, my younger son goes to kindergarten, where they study Hebrew with him, help with adaptation, the children arrived in a very difficult psychological state. I know that the number of applications for assistance that the Center processes every day is in the hundreds, and behind each application is a life, often wounded destinies, traumatic events of the recent past. I hope that my story will help raise the necessary amount for the incoming new immigrants. There is nothing more important than mutual assistance."
Marina\\\\\'s eldest son, Tim, is 12 years old, he is sitting next to her in headphones and does not seem to notice anything around. The youngest, Adam, 5, is fiddling with the construction set next to the TV, but constantly running to his mother to touch her hand. Father Dima was shot while trying to leave the city.
“I didn’t want to be separated, but this way the children had a better chance of not becoming orphans. So my husband and I ended up in different cars. We spent a month in the cellars, there was almost nothing left of the city, it was necessary to make some decision.”
Marina is one of 15,000 new immigrants who coped to come to Israel from the beginning of hostilities from the territory of Ukraine, more than 35,000 people entered through Russia, another 2,000 crossed the border through Belarus.
“We traveled for 28 days, everything was mixed up in my head, hotels, buses, tents, some kind of cars, collection points. There were three bags, 1 was left for the road, with documents and linen. And Adam\\\\\'s hare survived, dad bought it for him. I already knew that Dima was gone, but I still didn’t understand how to tell the boys, I couldn’t make up my mind, and now I remember, I sat them down, but I could only say: “My dears, take care of the hare.”
I think Timofey understood everything then.
The Information Center for Repatriates\\\\\' Rights at the Chabad Lubavitcher Center in Haifa is one of the country\\\\\'s largest organizations providing humanitarian assistance to new repatriates. Over the past 10 months, more than 2,000 families received a large food basket, warm blankets, and were consulted on legal issues. On a daily basis, the center assists in translating and sending documents to government authorities, helps with the placement of children in schools and kindergartens, resolves issues related to treatment and helps with finding a job.
All work of the Center is carried out exclusively on charitable donations.
Over the past 10 months, Chabad Be Aliya in Haifa (the second largest city in Israel) has used up all its resources, at the moment we do not have money to buy food packages, which means that people who expect rice, pasta from us, canned food, will remain hungry. We do not have the opportunity to purchase blankets, scarves, rugs, which means that people will simply freeze. This is something that should not be allowed under any circumstances!
Marina says that they went to Haifa because there are a lot of Russian-speaking people here, she had never been to Israel before. “You know, I thank God every day for bringing us here to Chabad, we were surrounded with such warmth, I have never received so much support in my life, they helped me find all the things I needed for the first time, we have nothing at all I didn’t have anything with me, volunteers organized the delivery of equipment, they helped me to quickly complete all the documents and kept asking what else I needed, how else to help. The grocery basket saves us even now, in Israel life is very expensive, I hardly have enough to pay for the apartment, utility bills and the most necessary things for children. In the summer, we were at some event organized by Chabad, and then Adam pulled my hand and said: "Let\\\\\'s go home." In three months, this was the first time he called the word "home" our apartment here, probably only then I realized that life goes on and my boy felt a little better. I am very grateful for the attention and care that the community center in Haifa surrounded us with, I could not have done it on my own, alone, I would not have had the strength.”
More than 60,000 people are expected to come to Israel in 2023. It will be the largest Aliya in the last 20 years. Among the new repatriates there are many families, elderly single people, about 10,000 children who survived the horrors of the war and lost everything. To get back on their feet, feel safe and start a new life, new immigrants need help and support in the first months of their stay in the country. Our People, like no one else, knows what it means to unite for a common goal for the sake of life. And now this is not a figure of speech, not a beautiful phrase - this is a real cry for help!
Help now! We ask you not only to donate, but also to spread the word about this collection among your friends and acquaintances.
The amount we need to collect in the shortest possible time is 500,000 shekels. Only if there are hundreds and thousands of us will we manage today to help tomorrow! Make your contribution, join us, do not be indifferent to someone else\'s misfortune and difficulties! We ask you not only to donate, but also to spread the information about this fundraiser to help new repatriates.
Just think - 500,000 shekels will allow to feed and provide for the basic needs of 3,500 families this year. We can do it! Thanks to each of you! Amen!
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