At Tikva our core mission is ‘saving lives’ and improving the quality of life of those who depend on us.
One of the vital programmes that we have had to adapt to the current climate, is our Elderly Care programme. Under normal circumstances, the elderly and lonely of our community gather in several of our facilities every day in order to enjoy hot meals, some social programming amongst themselves and uplifting interactions with our children and students. Now, these disadvantaged people are most at risk from the deadly Covid-19 virus.
During this time, without loved ones nearby to help, many of the elderly in our community have had to self-isolate at home. We are proud to have expanded our service of delivering weekly food packages to those unable to leave home, so that it now includes as many elderly people as we can reach.
Our wonderful students and volunteers have so far packed and delivered food packages to 400 people on a daily basis, and an additional 3,000(!) homes on a weekly basis. Each package comes with a lovely note and a drawing from the children to put a smile on their faces, as well as some words of encouragement, which for many, is their only contact with the outside world.
The weekly packages are a lifeline for many, including Yuhova Benja Usheronva. Born in 1915 in Moldova, she lived in a state orphanage from the age of 5 until 14, after her parents starved to death. She has lived through cholera, her two sisters being killed in World War II, a beautiful marriage with her husband who died fighting in World War II, as well as the death of her two children. What she receives from elsewhere is not enough to cover her bare necessities, let alone medication. Without her weekly food and medication packages and contact from Tikva, her situation would be unimaginable. Yuhova is just one of thousands of elderly people in the community, who rely on Tikva.
