Isaiah 58 Cares for a Struggling Family

 |  January 27, 2016

Especially for a struggling family, but feeding six young children and keeping them healthy would be a challenge for any set of parents. But Jelena and Misha parents of six children aged 3 to 11 face additional hurdles.

The family is very poor. They all live in a small one-room apartment in their home country of Lithuania. Everyone sleeps together on three sofa beds and mattresses on the floor. Their few articles of clothing are piled on a bookshelf, the only other furniture in their home.

In these close quarters, when one child gets sick, others tend to as well. “It’s hard to keep them healthy at the same time, since they are always so close together,” Jelena says with a sigh. Securing enough food is also a challenge. Mischa, a day-laborer in construction, fishes on the weekends, and his catch is the main source of food for the family. “The city river he fishes in is dirty and smelly, but we eat the fish anyway,” says Jelena. “My husband’s fish kept the kids fed this past summer.”

Winter, however, is a different story “the fish don’t bite when it’s cold and rainy,” Jelena explains. Thankfully, the family receives food packages through The Fellowship’s Isaiah 58 program. Without it, Jelena says she doesn’t know how they would survive the winter. Isaiah also provides much-needed medication to keep the children healthy during this difficult time of year.

There are thousands of Jewish families throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union who receive lifesaving help like this thanks to the generosity of our Isaiah 58 partners. Please give today and, on behalf of a struggling family like Jelena and Misha’s, thank you!