By COLlive reporter
With thousands of refugees streaming out of Ukraine during Russia’s attacks, the Chabad Shluchim in neighboring countries sprung into action, assisting the refugees with food, shelter, and necessities, while helping them acclimate in a new country.
The Shluchim are helping thousands, and are in urgent need of assistance, so Chabad opened the Ukraine Jewish Relief Fund and help desk in New York, which is offering a variety of services for refugees as well as those helping them.
25 bochurim, young Rabbis in the Merkos student visitation program, were dispatched to Romania, Poland, Moldova, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Germany and even into Ukraine proper, where they are assisting with the influx of refugees. They are working alongside the local Shluchim as well as the Shluchim who have accompanied their community members as they fled the war in Ukraine.
Bochurim have been sent to the villages of Medyka and Korzcova on the Polish border, to assist Chabad of Poland directed by Rabbi Sholom Ber Stambler.
Aside from visiting refugee camps and distributing food, they have been leading Purim services, offering Tefillin, and bringing Purim joy to both refugees and relief work volunteers who have arrived from around the world.
They have received materials and assistance from Rabbi Lazer Avtzon of United4Ukraine – Global Jewish Assistance and Relief Network, as well as businessman Noach Zeiler, who has been sending mishloach manos gifts and costumes for the refugee children.
“In the current state of affairs, the rabbinic students are performing a dual role,” commented Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L’Inyonei Chinuch. “They are providing much-needed material assistance to the refugees while also seeing to their spiritual well-being.”
To assist Chabad of Poland in their relief efforts, click here.
