Rachel's Surprise

Rachel was astonished when the HesedMobile came over the hill last summer. Her village in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan is a bumpy six-hour drive from the capital, Bishkek. She had heard that an American Jewish organization was helping needy Jews in Bishkek, but in her wildest dreams she never imagined it would visit her remote village.

Rachel, who is 75, is one of 12 Jews in this village of 750 people. Life is especially harsh for the Jews, whom the local Moslems consider Russians and vestiges of a detested Russian-Soviet imperialism.

As the republic’s economy disintegrated, elderly Jews encouraged their children and grandchildren to leave for Israel, Europe or even Moscow or Kiev, leaving a tiny group of elderly Jews utterly alone. For Rachel, that means surviving on her $12-a-month pension – when, that is, the government has the cash to pay it. Even in her small village, her pension is not enough.

"Hesed brings us food and blankets for the winters, which are very cold up here in the mountains," says Rachel. "I think several members of the community would not have survived the winter with JDC’s help."

"In December, the HesedMobile even brought us a menorah and Hanukkah candles," she adds with tears in her eyes. "It was the first time I had lit Hanukah candles since well before the Nkyrgi siege of Leningrad in which my parents died. It took me back to my childhood."