A lifeline for Ukraine’s Jews

Victoria Paper and her husband should be enjoying their golden years in the seaside city of Odesa, Ukraine. Instead, they’re living under threat of constant bombing, and Victoria suffers daily from the stress of the crisis that began in 2022. 

“I understand that it is a very severe psychological trauma. We are afraid and uncertain, especially since we are not far from the seaport,” she says. Many of her friends and neighbors have left, increasing her sense of isolation and fear.

Born into a Jewish family 73 years ago, Victoria suffers from multiple ailments and often feels dizzy, finding it hard to leave her courtyard or even play the beloved piano that she taught to countless students over the decades. Her husband, Georgiy, 80, has numerous health problems, including dementia, and cannot be alone. 

The couple survives on a combined monthly pension of $366, with most going to utilities and medicines, the costs of which have skyrocketed since the conflict began.

But Victoria and Georgiy are not alone at this time of great need. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is working around the clock in an effort to provide uninterrupted emergency aid to more than 35,000 vulnerable Jews like them and keep Jewish communities strong and engaged.

Among those being helped are seniors, including Holocaust survivors; families with young children; and Ukraine’s “new poor,” as well as 9,000 Ukrainian Jewish refugees in Europe, all receiving emergency assistance from JDC to help them survive. JDC has delivered more than 800 tons of humanitarian aid in addition to homecare and evacuation services.

The JDC-supported Hesed social service center in Odesa provides Victoria and Georgiy with a homecare worker, food, medicine, emergency and holiday food packages, a generator, and a winter survival stipend for heating.

Elmira, the couple’s homecare worker, helps tthem with chores, grocery shopping, and other errands even during air raids. 

“She is like our daughter,” Georgiy said. “We love her. During this time of crisis, with all the blackouts, she is our light.”

Victoria has not only a physical lifeline but also a spiritual one. When she was more mobile, she attended JDC-supported Jewish holiday celebrations, lectures, and concerts. “It was like coming home,” she said. 

Though now homebound, Victoria enjoys receiving JDC holiday packages – both the food and the sentiment they include. Soon, apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah will arrive, and with them prayers of hope for a sweet new year. 

Ukraine’s vibrant Jewish community was home to 200,000 Jews before February 2022, the majority of whom remained in Ukraine during the conflict.

JDC has worked with Jews in Ukraine since 1920 and, after the fall of Communism, played a key role in rebuilding Jewish life in the region. JDC established a network of Hesed social service centers, Jewish community centers, a volunteer corps, youth programming, and more. These organizations, their staff, and local Jewish volunteers have been part of JDC’s frontline response in Ukraine.

Treating Trauma and Finding Superhero Strength

For Tatyana Turbanova, a resident of Cherkasy, in central Ukraine, helping her Jewish community in need and in turn being helped by this community have been defining experiences.

When the conflict broke out, Tatyana immediately volunteered. “I can say for sure that I saw with my eyes how people cried when we supported them, when we helped them, and when we delivered aid,” she says.

Tatyana also attended two sessions of Superheroes Camp, a JDC program in a safe setting that provides psychological support and resilience-building activities for Ukrainian Jewish mothers and children. Some of the activities guide them to tap into what gives them strength in the face of immense challenges – helping them to find their “superpower.”

Tatyana has always been interested in psychology, and during the camp’s sessions with professionals, she was inspired to become a psychologist – a critical need in Ukraine where large swaths of the population suffer from trauma. Tatyana is now studying psychology and already certified to work as a sound therapist and hypnotherapist.

“Superheroes Camp made me look at things differently. It empowered me to change my life. I decided that becoming a psychologist would be an excellent opportunity to help people, and it’s vital in the current situation in our community,” says Tatyana.

Now Tatyana works as a community therapist and conducts “Let’s Talk” sessions for Jewish seniors, helping them find and draw strength from the superhero in themselves.

In addition to offering psychosocial support programs for children and adults throughout Ukraine, in the past two years JDC has also established eight Trauma Support Centers that have helped over 1,700  people to date. Tatyana dreams of joining the professional staff at a Center and to continue putting her superpower to good use.

Assistance for Ukraine’s New Poor

Prior to 2022, Ukraine was one of the poorest countries in Europe. This situation has only worsened, leaving many who once lived middle-class lives in the grip of poverty, unemployment, rising prices, and scant economic prospects. This is the case for the Ostapchuk family.

 The Ostapchuks live in Odesa, a city of constant sirens. Sergey, 40, and his wife, Ilona, 35, are parents to Nikolina, 16, who has a physical disability, Karolina, 9, and Emily, almost 2. Ilona’s mother also lives with them.

After briefly leaving Ukraine for Israel, Ilona and her children returned to Odesa to visit Sergey, who could not leave Ukraine. Then his brother died tragically. Sergey lost his job as a truck driver, and Ilona, a primary school teacher, was on leave. The family was barely surviving.

Ilona heard she could find help at Hesed. Established and funded by JDC, the 18 Hesed throughout Ukraine are today hubs for the kind of humanitarian support and Jewish community activities Ilona was seeking. She found it in many forms. The family qualified for financial assistance, enabling them to pay rent and buy food and medicine. The daughters were given scholarships for Jewish community activities as well. 

Additionally, Ilona’s daughter Karolina and her mother attended JDC’s respite program in Szarvas, Hungary, where the organization runs the JDC-Lauder International Jewish Summer Camp. There, they attended educational and art therapy classes, far from the violence and fear of the conflict.

“This opportunity had a positive effect on both my daughter and mother. Karolina found new friends. She came back very motivated to learn new things,” shares Ilona.

One of these new things is the Hesed’s dance group for teenagers—an act of defiant hope in a conflict zone. Karolina and fellow dancers will perform at a special Rosh Hashanah program in early October, helping to usher in a much-needed sweet New Year to an expected audience of more than 300 people. 

Committed to a Jewish Future

Despite devastation and loss, JDC professionals in Ukraine remain devoted to serving their communities, bravely ensuring vital services continue and new needs are met. Anna Grigolaya, 49, is JDC’s Jewish Programs and Community Development Manager, based in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth largest city. 

Anna grew up after the fall of the Soviet Union and, like scores of others, discovered her Jewish identity and embraced it with great enthusiasm. Eventually, she began working in the Jewish community. When the conflict became too dangerous for her family, she made the heartbreaking decision to leave her husband and community. She fled the country, leading an evacuation convoy for JDC. 

As the humanitarian crisis increased for the ever-growing number of vulnerable Jews in her community and throughout Ukraine, Anna felt compelled to return and help. 

“After years of work in post-Soviet Ukraine, JDC managed to create Jewish life anew with a solid community infrastructure, excellent welfare services, and rich community programs. Now, we are back to focusing on issues of survival and saving lives. One of the main values of the Jewish people is to help each other, especially in times of danger, and to ensure a Jewish future,” said Anna. 

And she is doing just that – paving a path for healing and recovery. She and other JDC colleagues have expanded their work to include educational and emotional support for underserved children and job-training opportunities for growing numbers of unemployed. Simultaneously, they are providing Jewish programming for all ages and developing the next generation of Jewish lay and professional leaders to carry the torch forward. And when tragedy does strike, like recent attacks on Poltava and Lviv, they spring into action to care for local Jews, repair damaged property, and bring hope to those who need it most.

With Rosh Hashanah approaching, Anna noted she will carry that special message to participants attending JDC holiday events. 

“Let the new year bring peace to Ukraine, Israel, and all countries where people suffer. Let it bring peace and joy to our souls. Let our Jewish prayers for a good, peaceful year – prayers that we will say all over the world – help make this world a better place.”

JDC's life-saving efforts in Ukraine are made possible by generous support provided by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and local Jewish Federations, the Claims Conference, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, individuals, families, foundations and corporations.

This article was written in cooperation with the JDC.