As she was turning 16 this year, Jackey wished she could look forward to a bright future full of possibilities. But coming of age during Bulgaria’s economic decline has left her feeling far less certain about her opportunities.
For the past two years, the Minevas’ downward spiral has mirrored Bulgaria’s economic decline—and now both have reached a critical tipping point. Mihaela, 40, proud mom of 15-year-old Monica, never imagined her family would plunge into poverty. In 2010, Mihaela’s husband lost his construction business and abandoned the family. The same year, her father lost his small grocery shop and suffered a heart attack.
For Konstantin, 25, and his family, the global financial crisis isn’t a newspaper headline. It’s a chapter in their tumultuous story, which has been playing out in Riga, Latvia for decades.
Formerly self-sufficient families have joined the ranks of the “New Poor” as a result of declining wages, forced unpaid “vacations,” unemployment, and burdensome mortgage payments. Among Bulgaria’s Jews, more and more families are turning to their community’s welfare system; hundreds are unemployed and unable to turn to their own relatives for help (as parents are usually unemployed as well and grandparents are living off meager state pensions).
Since closing the doors of the family clothing business in Athens for good last year, Rafail, 58 has had to count every Euro. Unable to afford the mortgage or sell the house, he and his wife, Sara were forced to cut spending back to a near halt—including pulling their small children, Lela, 10, and Moni, 6, out of Athens’ Jewish Community School.
After her husband’s tragic death, 56-year-old Hanna was left to care for her six children and elderly mother alone. Find out how JDC’s social relief services in Hungary secured this family’s day-to-day survival.
When Oleg’s long-time employer laid him off, his family spiraled below the poverty line. Learn how JDC’s Ariel Job Center got this father back on his feet and brought him closer to the Jewish community.