Leah: “Where Would I Be Without You?”

 |  January 27, 2016

Without you, we would not be able to provide food, comfort and support for elderly Jews like Leah. She is a widow who lives in the northern Israel city of Yokneam, was born in Morocco. Leah, her late husband and their five children came to Israel in 1963. “My husband, who died 10 years ago, worked in a factory in Haifa,” Leah says. “I was always at home taking care of the children. With my husband’s salary we were able to buy the food and clothing that we needed, thank God.”

Leah was never able to save anything for her old age. “Whenever we had essential expenses that my husband’s salary couldn’t cover, the deficit in our bank account would grow larger and larger. When my husband retired, the bank stopped extending credit.”

When Leah’s husband passed away shortly after he retired, Leah was left deeply in debt. Now, her sole sources of income are a small monthly pension and National Insurance payments. This is barely enough to supply her basic needs. “My children, like so many Israelis, are also struggling,” she laments. “They can’t help me.”

Since the death of her husband, The Fellowship has been one of the few bright spots in Leah’s life. In recent years, when she has encountered an unexpected expense, such replacement of an essential household appliance or emergency dental work, she has found that she could rely on The Fellowship for help, but not without you.

Leah is deeply grateful for this assistance that has provided her with a measure of comfort and safety in her old age. “I’m an old lady living alone – how can I live without a stove or refrigerator?” she asks. “I once needed dental work to replace a tooth that fell out. I cannot afford these things.

“Where would I be without you? You should all have long life and good health! Thank you for caring about people like me.”

Please donate to Guardians of Israel today to give comfort to suffering elderly Jews like Leah.