JDC Began Work in the Region: 1919–38; Returned, 1988
The states that constitute the former Soviet Union are the homes of the world’s poorest Jews and represent enormous humanitarian challenges in terms of basic welfare and sustainability. JDC and its partners focus resources where the needs are greatest. For the aged, including the region’s Holocaust survivors, JDC provides critical welfare services: home care, medicines, food, and winter relief. For the neediest children and their families, JDC's partnership with the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews in the FSU delivers critical food, health care, financial support, and child development services.
Complementing those relief efforts is JDC’s commitment to Jewish renewal. Post-communist-era religious freedom has opened the door for JDC to establish more than 180 Jewish community centers offering dynamic programs and activities that reconnect the population to Jewish religious traditions and customs. Furthering that reconnection, JDC (1) supports informal Jewish educational opportunities for all age-groups, (2) has been instrumental in the establishment of Jewish libraries, and (3) has fostered the development of college-level Jewish studies and adult education initiatives. JDC training programs for lay leaders and communal professionals play integral roles in community building and are helping to advance the development and ensure the self-sustainability of local communities. Through those efforts, JDC is ensuring a viable and strong Jewish future across the vast expanse of the former Soviet Union.
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Regional Programs:
Former Soviet Union
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