Efrat and Nehoray
“It does my heart well that Christians and Jews in Canada want to help. They are good, warm people,” says Hani as she places The Fellowship’s food box and grocery card on the small table...
Hani puts on a brave face for her children, Efrat, 11, Nehoray, 6. They laugh and play with the carefree bliss that all children deserve unaware of the family’s hardship. Hani smiles gently and pulls them close for a hug. She doesn’t want them to feel even an ounce of the anxiety she suffers over the family’s financial situation—they are, after all, just children.
Hani and her husband are both disabled and unable to work. She suffers from a severe intestinal condition and her husband a debilitating heart condition. Their meager disability income is just enough to cover their public-housing apartment rent each month, as well as the utilities. There is little left over for food and other necessities like clothing for the children.
The Fellowship supporters play an integral role in the survival of this grateful family. They’ve received warm blankets and clothing for the winter. When their refrigerator broke, a new fridge was delivered. When the heat was shut off in plummeting temperatures, The Fellowship was there to make sure the family did not freeze.
This family of six shares a cramped two-bedroom apartment where the walls are bare and floorspace is maximized to the fullest extent. Their son sleeps on the pull-out couch in the common room, while the daughters share a pull-out in the bedroom. Every morning they strip their makeshift beds and stack their bedding in the corner. They dream of one day having their own beds.
“It does my heart well that Christians and Jews in Canada want to help. They are good, warm people,” says Hani as she places The Fellowship’s food box and grocery card on the small table that serves as their eating space. “I say to them, thank you for your support, for being by our side.”
Dani says she hopes this outpouring of support helps her children follow a straight and narrow path to success so that one day they will not require the help that they currently need.
