Comforting a Holocaust Orphan

The Fellowship  |  April 4, 2018

What an unspeakable horror to be just 4 years old and witness your best friend’s mother and younger brother shot in cold blood by the Nazis. Katya was this child.

She then ran home, only to see her own mother and father murdered right in front of her!

Now running for her life, she managed to escape the house and flee into the woods – no coat, no food, and no one to look after her.

As Katya told us her story, she relived how she survived solely from handouts and scraps of food from people who knew her parents.

Sadly, Katya’s trauma is so deep, she still carries a sense of worthlessness and despair. Now 77, she lives with no running water or heat, barely able to survive the harsh Ukrainian winter.

The Fellowship food box – given from friends like you – means far more than just survival for Katya. This gift of love and compassion gave nourishment, hope, and dignity to this precious Holocaust orphan whose life has been scarred with loss and grief.

Tragically, there are tens of thousands of Holocaust orphans like Katya who have nothing. They cannot care for themselves, and live in the most dire poverty you can imagine.

“Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter —
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
(Isaiah 58:6-7)

Together today, we can be the hands and feet of God and deliver food, warmth, dignity, and the flame of hope to these who have suffered their entire lives.