Helping Christians in Need 

IFCJ Canada  |  September 11, 2026

One of the questions IFCJ Canada receives most often is whether we have Christian beneficiaries. The answer is yes. In fact, one of our recent projects focused on bringing food boxes to Christians in need around Israel. 

Fellowship staff distributing food boxes for Rosh Hashanah visited the home of Ludmila, an 81-year-old Christian widow living on the top floor of an old building in Kiryat Malachi. She made aliyah (immigration to Israel) in 1993 with her Jewish husband from Russia. 

Growing up in the Soviet Union, much of Ludmila’s childhood was marked by poverty and hunger. She remembers going to live with her grandmother while her mother worked in the mines of Siberia. There was already widespread poverty in the small village where they lived, but conditions worsened when the mine stopped employing women. With no flour to make bread, the family picked grass and made what they could from it for nourishment. Even the family cat helped, catching fish and bringing them back to the house. 

Ludmila grew up and studied geology, eventually moving to Leningrad, where she met her husband, Misha. For a while, she had no idea he was Jewish until she stumbled across his birth certificate and discovered his Jewish surname. It was common for Jews to change their last names to avoid discrimination and give their children better opportunities, including access to education. Misha’s father had served in the Red Army and was passed over for promotions because he was Jewish. 

Ludmila says, “I’m a Christian. I know what happened in World War II. I know about the millions of Jews who were murdered. When I met my husband, I didn’t think at all about his religion. I cared about the person he is, and that’s what I think everyone should do.” 

In 1992, the Tajikistan civil war broke out after the country gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Rioters stormed towns and targeted people of Russian origin, as well as Jews and Christians. This placed both Ludmila and Misha at risk. They were fortunate to be in the fields near their home when rioters arrived, allowing them to escape. The next year, they made aliyah with their two adopted children. Thirteen years later, Misha passed away, and their children eventually went on to have families of their own. 

Ludmila shared her gratitude for the assistance she has received from IFCJ Canada: “It moves me very much that good people support me. I understand that these are Christian people who are doing us a great favour, and I appreciate it very much as a Christian and as a person.” 

“One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24) 

Learn how you can help provide lifesaving care to Christians and Jews in need during these High Holy Days.