Home Repairs
We repair unlivable and war-damaged homes, focusing on insulating against the cold and making accessibility changes enabling Jewish older people to live with dignity.
Support for Older People
We work with local partners to improve the lives of older people particularly more than 10,000 elderly Jews, largely in eastern Europe suffering the effects of conflict, poverty and crisis. We support in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Georgia, Russia and Poland. Once accomplished doctors, teachers, or scientists, now live in poverty with minimal pensions, forcing them to choose between food, heating, or medicine, while state social services remain minimal.
The Russian invasion has worsened Ukraine’s demographic crisis, leading to Europe’s highest proportion of elderly, many suffering from illness, PTSD, and depression. The need for suitable housing, and good health and social care for older people in Ukraine has never been more acute.
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Supporting Active Ageing
We help older Jewish people to maintain their mental and physical health through psychological support, homecare and medical assistance to those with chronic conditions.
Humanitarian aid in Ukraine
Our humanitarian support prioritizes Jewish older people, addressing their unmet needs amidst the Russian invasion. We provide material aid, safe spaces, temporary housing, and winter support.
Supporting Jewish Adults with disabilities
We support individuals with disabilities, especially those affected by wartime, by providing medical care, financial aid, emotional support, and employment opportunities to empower them and improve their quality of life.
Supporting sustainable Jewish livelihoods
Rooted in our Jewish values, we believe empowering people to provide for themselves is the highest form of Tzedakah, or charity, you can give. Alongside our local partners in eastern Europe and eastern Africa, we provide job-specific skills training, mentorship, financial and psychological support to help people transform their earnings and gain independence.
Our life-changing programs:
Back to Work: We provide employment and financial training, to empower Jewish people in crisis to build sustainable futures in which they and their families can survive and thrive.
Building Stronger Families: We help Jewish families impacted by conflict, crisis and trauma to develop an action plan which enables them to function effectively.
Back to Childhood: We address gaps in Jewish children and young people’s cognitive, social and emotional development to help them cope with trauma, build healthy relationships and learn vital skills.
Jewish communities around the world
We provide assistance to vulnerable Jewish communities in crisis through both emergency and long-term relief. We provide essential support to Jews in Ukraine, Israel, Belarus, Moldova, Russia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Poland and Uganda. Our support primarily addresses the older Jews of the Survivor Generation while also significantly extending to programs that assist with employment, family support, and children’s needs.
Stepping From Shade Into Sunshine
Moshe and Hannah are part of Uganda’s century-old Jewish community. Forced to drop out of school, they later married and had children. But life was difficult, and they struggled to provide food, healthcare, and an education for their children.
“We couldn’t provide for our Shabbat meals. We hoped life would change.”
Looking to transform their lives, they joined our agricultural and financial training program for Jewish farmers. After learning the skills to increase their income, they can now provide their children with the opportunities they never had.
David's Story
David, 66, was born in Chisinau, Moldova, but spent much of his life in Ukraine, working as a caretaker at a Yeshiva. Raised by a single mother, he never had a permanent home or job. After the Russian invasion began in 2022, he was forced to return to Moldova, but couldn’t restore his citizenship. David had no pension or income, and had to rely on synagogue donations. Around this time, David also experienced a sharp deterioration in his health, but he did not have health insurance either.
In 2023, alongside our partner Hesed Yehuda, we helped David access medical care, stabilize his health, and improve his living situation. Now, David is healthier, more active, and no longer alone. “When I found myself without a home, without money, without old friends… you became my friends, my family. Having received your help, I became a different person!”
Support for Israel
The ongoing psychological impact of October 7th is unimaginable. As war continues to rage in the Middle East and air raid sirens sound through the night, the suffering continues. World Jewish Relief is committed to playing its part in helping Israelis rebuild their lives.
We are providing psychological support to Israelis, including children in Northern Israel, alongside our partner, the Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC). And as suicide rates rise, we are working with our partner MOSHE to help reduce the risk.
