No Longer Alone: Community of 10 Reaches Out

Because of problems with his eyes and legs, Ernest could no longer get to shul in his small town of Buhusi, home to approximately 10 Jews in the Moldavian region of Romania.  All alone at the age of 80, the other members of the community were his only family.

Struggling to eke out a living on his $12 monthly pension, Ernest was regularly forced to choose between food, clothing, medications or heating his small flat during Romania’s brutal winters.  "The decision was a hard one to make," he explains, "but it was the loneliness that was the hardest to bear."

Thanks to JDC-supported Jewish community welfare services, Ernest no longer has to make that difficult choice.  A Jewish doctor from the nearby Iasi community comes to see him, bringing him his medications.  Food packages with staples like flour and oil, as well as special holiday items like honey for Rosh Hashana, are delivered monthly.  Ernest also selects a new warm robe and slippers each year from the community clothing "store."  Most important, though, are the regular visitors that keep him from feeling isolated.

"I only want health," he says, as he awaits his weekly appointment with his homecare worker.  "The Joint and our Jewish community give me everything else I need."