Faces of The Fellowship: Stefania
The Fellowship | July 27, 2016
Ievgeni, 31, his wife Iryna, 39, and their daughters Marharyta, 9, and Stefania, 2, decided to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel) from Ukraine because they believe they’ll be able to find peace and comfort.
“We’re really looking forward to starting our new life,” says Ievgeni. “We’ve been counting the days to our Freedom Flight with The Fellowship.”
“Now is right time to leave Ukraine,” he continues. “Our daughter Stefania is 2 years old. Soon she’ll enter nursery school where she’ll be able to easily adapt. We’re also happy about the fact that she’ll grow up in the right environment.”
While they didn’t live in an area affected by the war in Ukraine, they did notice when prices started rising and when many people started losing their jobs.
“We understand that the economic situation in Ukraine isn’t good,” says Ievgeni. “The country isn’t developing. Work conditions and the business environment are only getting worse. It’s not good for us. We want to provide a decent life to our children.”
The couple says that they didn’t completely follow Jewish traditions in Ukraine. Ievgeni acknowledges, “While I was working for a Jewish charitable organization, I learned many things about Judaism, but it was difficult to observe in Ukraine. Nevertheless, we understand that we’ll be living in the Jewish homeland, and I believe we’ll observe the Jewish traditions more regularly.”
The couple feels very blessed to begin a new life in Israel, especially because they know their daughters will adapt easily because they are still young. They know it’s thanks to The Fellowship‘s wonderful donors that they are able to begin lives in the Holy Land.