Faces of The Fellowship: Inna

The Fellowship  |  March 13, 2019

Inna Rotshtein, an IFCJ recipient looking directly into the camera.
Faces of The Fellowship: Inna

Inna, 61, is one of just a few Jews who remain in Moldavanka, the former center of Orthodox Jewish life in Odessa, Ukraine, and today a scene of decay and disrepair.

Among Inna’s few prized possessions is a shabby siddur, or Jewish prayer book, that belonged to her grandfather. “I’m happy that these days I don’t need to hide my religious identity anymore,” Inna says. Raised in a religious family, she remains Orthodox, keeping kosher and attending synagogue on Shabbat (Sabbath).

Inna also enjoys working part-time as a librarian at a local library, but still her life is filled with hardships. After paying for food and medicine, Inna has no money left to pay for much-needed repairs to her deteriorating apartment, which consists of two rooms and a leaky roof. She also suffers from many health issues, including kidney disease, high blood pressure, and severe migraines.

Inna has one daughter who has a large family of her own and cannot help her mother. Thankfully, The Fellowship stepped in with emergency aid to help.

We provide Inna with home care, help with home repairs, and grants for medical equipment, like a cane to help her walk. Inna depends on this aid in order to survive, and now she knows that she has Fellowship friends around the world who care for her.

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