While distributing food boxes in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Fellowship staff also took time to make deliveries to those unable to reach the city. In fact, many elderly Jews and Holocaust survivors live in small, remote villages hours away from metropolitan areas. 85-year-old Sofia is one of them, living nearly two hours away along unpaved roads in an old house heated only by a wood-burning stove. Vulnerable and elderly Jews like Sofia aren’t just grateful for the support—the companionship Fellowship staff provides also goes a long way.
Sofia was born at a time when war had engulfed the world. She and her parents fled to the village of Kykova to escape the violence, but her father was captured by the Nazis. His fate was never known. Sofia and her mother never saw him again, nor did they receive news of his death. He simply disappeared.
After the war, Sofia and her mother were the only Jews in the village. In addition to the hardships of being Jewish in the Soviet Union, Sofia and her family were shunned because her mother was a widow. They had to manage on their own.
Sofia has spent her entire life in Kykova, where she went on to marry and have a son. Sadly, both her husband and son passed away after long illnesses. Now, as she remains in the same house they once shared, Sofia faces deteriorating health. Even walking from room to room requires her to stop and sit down to rest.
She says, “Whenever I’m tired, I sit down, and when I have the strength again, I keep walking. I’m afraid of the door frames because I could fall, and I would have to get up by myself. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m afraid to walk through the house because there is no light.”
Pain in her spine and legs become too much if she remains standing for long. Sofia wraps a scarf around her knee to provide some relief. But much-needed relief also comes in the form of a food box and a hot meal. This support helps her manage the cost of her daily needs, as the pension she receives is not enough to cover both food and medicine.
Sofia sends her deepest thanks to Fellowship donors who make this essential support possible: “Thank you for coming such a long way to visit me, for not being afraid of me, and for all the help you have given me. Let God bless you and give you hope.”