Fellowship staff recently visited one of our elderly beneficiaries from the former Soviet Union who now lives in Israel, bringing special Hanukkah aid and lighting candles together. On the final day of the Festival of Lights, we were honored to bring hope to 90-year-old Fania.
Fania moved from Belarus to Ukraine before World War II began when she was eight years old. She still remembers her mother running outside when they were playing and screaming that war had come. Fania and her family were able to evacuate before the Nazis reached them. There were those who stayed behind, believing that the Nazis would treat them humanely. They were all shot.
“After a while, we arrived in Georgia, in Tbilisi,” Fania remembers. “The road there was so difficult. We were starving, and we suffered from a lack of water and unsanitary conditions. My deepest impression of the trip was that once we arrived, we were fed deliciously and given hot water to bathe and wash our clothes. But we were not allowed to stay in Tbilisi and were sent away to Azerbaijan. It was a godforsaken place. This place was called the valley of death because swamp fever was widespread, and there was no medicine for it. Many children died.”
After the war, Fania returned home to Ukraine with her family to find their apartment bombed. Living with friends, she was able to go to school and become an industrial architect. For the next 40 years, Fania helped design factories. Her daughter followed in her footsteps and became an architect. The success was not without its challenges. Fania recalls instances of anti-Semitism from the community where she worked and studied. Even though she did her job well, she was shunned by her peers.
In 1996, she and her daughter made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) and settled in Beit Shemesh. At this point, Fania was more than 70 years old and wasn’t working anymore. Most of her social security allowance goes to her rent. She lives on the fifth floor of a building with no elevator or bomb shelter. The residents use the stairwell when an attack occurs, with Fania’s neighbors carrying her since she can’t walk alone.
Largely confined to her apartment, Fania draws strength from her faith and from the prayers of her grandfather that she remembers from her time fleeing the Nazis. The Fellowship’s aid, thanks to our donors, helps bring groceries directly to her every month. Our Hanukkah gift included a traditional treat for the holiday: sufganiyot (jelly donuts).
“I would like to hug and thank every Fellowship donor who takes care of us and makes our lives easier. I can’t even imagine how much effort, money, and resources you spend to help us. Many thanks to you. I sincerely appreciate your help,” said Fania.
