Kostya: Isaiah 58 Gives the Gift of Food and Companionship

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Kostya, an intelligent, soft-spoken 17-year-old boy living in Russia, has a very difficult family situation. His father is abusive and an alcoholic. His mother is seriously ill and bedridden. Kostya is often left to take care of himself, and didn't always get enough to eat. He struggled with loneliness and isolation.

But today, Kostya enjoys delicious kosher meals thanks to The Fellowship's Isaiah 58 program that assists Jews in need throughout the former Soviet Union. Whenever he gathers with other needy children in the community for these meals, it's like a holiday for this growing boy. Not only is he able to eat all he wants, he also gets to socialize with the other children.

Inspired by the kindness and generosity he's experienced through this program, Kostya felt inspired to do something good for others. He now offers to help other community members with random household chores as a way of giving thanks. Kostya says the Isaiah 58 program not only fed him, but also gave him the feeling he isn't alone in the world, and that he is needed by someone and that, he says, is the greatest gift of all.

Please give today to Isaiah 58 – and help support young Jewish people like Kostya throughout the former Soviet Union.