Fellowship staff recently visited 89-year-old Raisa in Ukraine. She lives in a tiny, remote village so isolated that there are no paved roads leading to it. The only way to reach her home is on foot. The other homes are just as modest, with many lacking running water and having outdoor toilets and showers. Despite her age, Raisa remains remarkably independent, cleaning her home and tending her garden. Still, she often wonders how much longer her health will allow her to do so.
The Fellowship’s support is vital to Raisa. She lives on a small pension that is barely enough to cover her basic needs. Buying food is difficult, which is why she grows her own vegetables whenever she can. Like so many others in Ukraine whom The Fellowship supports, Raisa depends on this assistance to meet her daily needs as the country continues to struggle with rising costs and the ongoing war. Sadly, this is not the first time she has endured such hardship.
Raisa remembers when World War II began and what her Jewish family faced. “My parents and I fled our village and stayed at my grandmother’s house,” she says. “One day, my father went to the well to get a bucket of water. The Nazi police came, took him away, and the next day he was killed. I was only three years old. I don’t remember much, but I will never forget the last time they allowed me to hug him and wave goodbye.”
Growing up as a Jewish child during that time was filled with fear and pain. Raisa remembers standing by the road one day when a truck carrying Nazi soldiers drove past. One of the soldiers stepped out and struck her in the face with the butt of his rifle. After the war, anti-Semitism remained common. Raisa was bullied in school because she was Jewish, and years later, her son endured the same treatment. Hunger was also a constant part of life. She began working at a young age, while her mother cooked frozen potatoes or whatever food she could find to keep the family alive.
17 years ago, Raisa’s husband passed away, and she has lived alone ever since. Today, she once again finds herself living through war and uncertainty, doing everything she can to maintain the independence she has left. Through regular food box deliveries, The Fellowship is making sure she does not have to face these challenges alone.
Raisa says, “I still can’t believe you traveled all this long way just to visit me and bring me food. May God bless you.”