My Last Hope

The Fellowship  |  February 7, 2022

Matat wouldn’t be alive if not for Fellowship friends. Quite literally, The Fellowship saved this elderly Jewish widower’s life when he’d lost all hope.

Support from Fellowship-supported Chesed in their native Kyrgyzstan first impacted the lives of Matat and his wife as she battled a terminal illness.

“You extended my wife’s life, giving her medical equipment we couldn’t afford,” Matat recalls. “When my beloved was around, things were fine. We dreamed together.”

But Matat’s wife passed away, leaving him completely alone. He no longer wanted to live. At the last moment, a Chesed homecare worker happened to be in the neighborhood and check on this sweet lonely man. Finding him nearly unconscious, she called for help… and saved Matat’s life.

Now Fellowship volunteers bring some hope – and even happiness – to Matat’s life each and every day, each and every month. Homecare help and help with basic needs like groceries surely brighten his life. And during the brutal Eastern European winter, assistance from The Fellowship keeps him warm.

But it’s the love and companionship – from Fellowship friends around the world, especially as the lonely holidays approach – that have saved his life. “Without this assistance I’d probably be gone long ago,” Matat says. “The Fellowship is my last hope.”

The Fellowship has been providing food, medicine, heat, basic needs and aliyah to Jews in need in the former Soviet Union for over 30 years, and we’re prepared for any situation the hundreds of thousands of Jewish people in that region may face. Help support vulnerable Jews with your gift of love and comfort today.