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SASHA AND HER GRANDFATHER: MEETING BASIC NEEDS AND BUILDING JEWISH IDENTITY

 

Sasha, 13, lives with her mother and her grandparents in Kiev, Ukraine. When she was only four, she was diagnosed with severe scoliosis and needed to get a back brace. The family would have to take her to St. Petersburg, Russia, to have it made, but they had no place to stay there and no means to pay for a hotel room. Sasha's family was also told that seawater baths were essential for her health-but how could they afford trips to the ocean? They couldn't even afford to fix the leaks in their dilapidated house, the same house in which Sasha's grandmother group up.

JDC's Beteinu program, funded by Federation Annual Campaign dollars, came to the rescue. Beteinu's staff found lodging for the family, helped them pay for the brace, and assists them with health-related trips to the ocean.But that was just the beginning. The family also receives clothes, and they participate in a food card program that helps struggling families pay for healthy groceries. And Sasha has learned all about Jewish values and traditions from Beteinu's summer camp and year-round programs.

 The family's connection with Federation goes back even further than Sasha's childhood. Her grandfather, Grigoriy, explains that he himself was able to explore his Jewish roots thanks to a program funded by Federation. Growing up in Kiev in the 1950s, he learned nothing about his heritage at his Soviet school. It wasn't until he had reached middle age that he began to educate himself about Judaism. "I went to the Israeli cultural center," he says. "I was a grown-up man, over 50 years old - I started all that from the very beginning."       

 

Since the women of the household work long hours every day, Sasha's grandfather is her primary caregiver. When she was five, he took her to the Beteinu center in Kiev, where she could learn not only about Judaism but also acquire basic school-readiness skills. "When she first came there, she could do absolutely nothing. She couldn't socialize with kids or adults. She was a shy girl; it was painful. And now, thanks to her teachers' efforts... the child has changed completely. She went to school well-prepared. She could read very well; she could do everything. And she wasn't scared of anyone."

 

And as her grandfather had hoped, Sasha's knowledge of Judaism deepened. "Every year Beteinu goes to build sukkahs on Sukkot," she begins her list. "They celebrated all Shabbats there. Thanks to Beteinu, well, I know traditions... In Beteinu everyone gathers together. All my friends come to celebrate these holidays. And this way everyone remembers when these holidays take place and what they are."

 

The program has also strengthened her relationship with her grandfather. "We go together to all of Beteinu's camps," she says. "He developed a love of football in me."

"And chess," he adds.

"And a love of chess," Sasha concludes.

The family is thrilled with the program and its impact on Sasha. "Now she continues her quest for knowledge on her own," her grandfather says. "It helps develop children's spirits and gives them hope for the future."