Immigrant Welcome Gifts

My name is Elena. My husband, Yuriy, and I with our daughter, Olessia, and son, Yaroslav, came to Israel from Ukraine. Before aliyah [immigration to Israel], we had a good life in Ukraine. I had a job as a chief accountant, Yuriy had his own carpentry business and was also engaged in bookkeeping. We had to leave everything because of the war and normal life stopped. Experiences, stress, and hopelessness began to influence our daily routine. This horror cannot be described in words. And every day the same question: why all the killing… is there a future for us with our children? Therefore, we decided to repatriate to Israel, realizing that our children will be safer here than in Ukraine. We have to start all over again. The period of adaptation continues and life is full of challenges. We as a family want to thank you and your organization for your wonderful gift and your support. It is very much comforting to know that there are people like you who care.

Our names are Oleksii and Maryna. We made aliyah [immigrated to Israel] with our two children, Victoria, 10 years old, and Markus, 6 years old, from Kyiv. While in Ukraine, both of us worked in the tourism business, and we would love to continue to do so in Israel as our dream is to open a tourism business. We made the decision to move to Israel for a better future for our children. We want them to grow up in a free and independent country with a good education. We are very grateful to Bridges for Peace as we do not have any relatives in Israel and value your assistance very much! Cooking is important as our children are still growing and the pots and pans are necessary and timely. The same for the warm blankets for all of us and the school kits for Victoria and Markus. We are determined to master the Hebrew language, but in this initial time of getting to know the language, we treasure the Bible in Russian. We want to thank you again for your cherished assistance and giving us hope of settling well in our new homeland. Oleksii and Maryna with Victoria and Markus

Our family, consisting of me - Kirill, my wife Maria, and our 1.5-year-old son Maxim, our joy, made aliyah [immigrated to Israel] just over a month ago in February, from Moscow. Our journey to get to Israel turned out to be complicated. However, finally, we are at the point of starting a new life in this beautiful country, now our homeland. We were surrounded with care and attention on our arrival, and it is the same with your organization! We are stunned by this warm welcome. Although we came from a rather expensive city, Moscow, we were surprised by the local prices. The family budget began to crack, and your help for us is one of those straws that do not allow the “broom” to break. We are grateful for your help and your concern! It still amazes me that there are people with such openness to new immigrants. Once again, thank you very much for your help to our family! We are glad for “every shekel,” especially in such a difficult time when there is no constant work, and I am responsible for my wife and child!