The Fellowship continues to respond to the crisis in Ukraine. This effort has even brought staff just kilometers away from the constant drone and missile attacks battering the country.
For people living in these areas, there is a special kind of terror in knowing that projectiles are coming but never knowing where they’ll land. Last month, when Fellowship staff traveled to the outskirts of Odesa, a siren sounded and multiple explosions followed—one of which shook 92-year-old Svetlana’s house just as they were about to enter. Sadly, this is part of daily life for Svetlana, as there is no nearby bomb shelter.
Svetlana lives in the same village near Odesa where her family has lived for generations. She was just seven when World War II reached them. Her family—Svetlana, her parents, her older brother, and her younger sister—attempted to escape by ship, but the harbor was bombed, forcing them to stay. Some of Svetlana’s earliest memories are of hiding with her mother in the village catacombs as bombs fell and Nazi-allied soldiers arrived. Her father was taken away as raids on the village followed. Svetlana’s mother would hide her brother in the basement or attic to prevent the same thing from happening to him.
What Svetlana especially remembers from this time is the hunger. Even before the soldiers came, the village had already run out of bread. Then, they began taking whatever families had left. Svetlana remembers a couple of soldiers entering their home and taking flatbread her mother had just made. They also stole their sewing machine, schoolbooks, and more. Terrible acts of violence accompanied these thefts, with elderly neighbors being dragged from their homes and shot in the street.
She says, “My mother went out to see if they were alive. The neighbors told her they had already taken them away. Out of a whole family, only a father and his son survived. Hunger is terrifying. The five of us –my grandmother, my mother, my sister, my brother, and I –received one loaf of bread and one small piece for three days.”
Even after the famine and war ended, Svetlana continued to feel the effects of hunger for the next two years. Looking back, she says her mother’s determination saved the family. Whenever there was food, she always made sure her children ate first. Svetlana started working at the age of 15, taking on each job for the sake of her family.
At 92 years old, Svetlana suffers from mobility problems but still volunteers by knitting kippahs for members of the Jewish community. She says the current war in Ukraine is even more frightening than what she experienced as a child, and she prays each day that the next wave of missiles doesn’t hit her home.
The monthly support Svetlana receives from The Fellowship is an essential lifeline for her and her daughter, who buys their groceries. Because of this support, Svetlana can use her pension for other necessities, such as medicine.
She says, “Thank God for The Fellowship and the people who help us; without them, it would be much harder. Thank you!”