Once a major center of Jewish life, most Jews in Ukraine lost almost all ties to their heritage during the Soviet era. When the Soviet Union collapsed, it left the economy in Ukraine in ruins. When JDC returned to Ukraine in 1988, our goal was to provide social services to impoverished, elderly Jews and to help Ukrainian Jews renew their link to Jewish life and build a strong communal structure. The response from Jews throughout Ukraine was overwhelmingly positive.

Despite severe economic hardships, the Jews of Ukraine are increasingly reclaiming their Jewish heritage, building strong communal organizations, and caring for their impoverished elderly. Their lifeline has been, and continues to be, JDC.

The cities and peripheral regions of Kiev, Kharkov, Lvov, Dnepropetrovsk and Odessa provide an inspiring example of the remarkable progress that Ukrainian Jews have made in less than two decades. The statistics cited below are for 2004:

Welfare Programs for the Elderly

• 106,280 Elderly Served
• 632,840 Food Packages
• 8,710 Communal Meals Served
• 1,496,378 Meals-on-Wheels Served
• 3,913 Participants in Warm Homes
• 311,075 Homecare Visits
• 11,935 Medical Equipment Loans
• 29,434 Medical Consultations
• 42,134 Winter Relief

In addition, there are now 64 Jewish Community Centers (JCCs) and JCC/Hesed Centers in Ukraine, which are serving tens of thousands of Jews. In Dnepropetrovsk, 23,000 people are engaged in Jewish activities, and 8,364 people in Kiev and its peripheral region participated in JCC activities in 2001.

Most important of all, Ukrainian Jewish leaders are assuming greater financial responsibility for their communities, working to raise funds for both welfare programs and Jewish renewal activities.

Yet, many thousands of Ukrainian Jews are still lost to the Jewish world. JDC is working hard to renew their affiliation with Jewish life, even as we help committed community activists care for those in need.

2005