You Make a Difference for Emma

Emma lives in Ashdod, in one of the heavily bombarded areas of southern Israel. She’s lived there for 23 years since her family made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) from Siberia.

In fact, when Fellowship volunteers were on the way to meet Emma, they had to take shelter in a building near her apartment as a code red siren wailed for 10 minutes.

It’s no wonder the first words Emma speaks to us are filled with fear. “Since the war has broken out, I’m feeling very alone and very afraid,” she says.

This isn’t the first time that war has terrified Emma. When World War II broke out, her family didn’t have to evacuate her town of Irkutsk. But they did have to turn the children’s schools—including Emma’s school—into hospitals for injured soldiers. “You could feel the war everywhere. As children, it was very scary … there were now soldiers who were suffering and screaming.”

Today, war has come again, and she says all she can do is pray for Israel. “I can’t imagine how terrified the Israeli mothers are, or what a nightmare the life is for the families whose loved ones have been kidnapped.”

Now that her husband has passed, and the cost of living rises, Emma finds it even more challenging to buy basic necessities, especially during the war. Thankfully, she has IFCJ Canada to rely on during wartime to make it through.

Food deliveries from Fellowship volunteers help her survive, and most importantly, they remind her she isn’t alone. “I have the feeling that there is somebody who is really thinking about me—and it means a lot!” she says.

Your gift today will help save lives and help provide emergency essentials to those in need, like Emma, during this crisis.

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