Meet people from the Khabarovsk Jewish Community, hear what life is like there, share in Shabbat songs, and with plenty of time to ‘mingle’ virtually.
Friday, May 21, 2021 | 6:00 p.m.
Click here to register.
SUPPORTING THE KHABAROVSK JEWISH COMMUNITY
We take the responsibility to support Jewish communities around the world seriously. As the closest federated Jewish community to southeast Russia, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver together with the Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) our trusted partners in rescue and relief have assisted the Khabarovsk Jewish Community in funding welfare services, community building, and developing young leaders.
In August 2018, Jewish Federation’s Board Chair, CEO, and a group of our volunteer leaders travelled to Khabarovsk, Russia, to see our work in action. Two of the programs they visited are helping individuals in need and ensuring Jewish communities thrive.
HELPING ELDERLY JEWS LIVING IN POVERTY
Together with the JDC, we are saving the lives of impoverished, elderly Jews in Siberia and the Russian Far East. Without this help, thousands of elderly Jews living on pensions as low as $2 a day would go to bed hungry, and Jewish families trapped in a cycle of poverty would be unable to imagine a better future for their children. In partnership with the JDC, we bring lifesaving relief to the poorest Jews in a corner of the world where hardly any other social services exist.
EMPOWERING YOUNG ADULTS TO BUILD COMMUNITY
There is a critical need to equip young adults in the Former Soviet Union (FSU) with the values of communal responsibility and the skills for local leadership. Through the JDC’s Metsuda program in the Ural Mountains region of the FSU we are doing just that — preparing strong leaders, activists, and volunteers who can play an active role in shaping their communities’ future. As a result of the program, commitment to community involvement is growing rapidly among young Jews in the FSU, illustrated by a 50% increase in Metsuda participant numbers. Metsuda’s new alumni program is successfully harnessing the energy and experience of its graduates to address community needs.
Metsuda continues to empower and enable local leadership to continue the process of building aspiring Jewish communities across the FSU. Participants ranging from 18-30 attend four seminars that combine engaging and interactive lectures with group-building activities, Jewish content, outdoor challenges, and the development of their own volunteer-based community projects.
To learn more about the work that, we support in Khabarovsk, watch this video of reflections from our volunteers on their time there.