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Home Visits from the Elderly Club are Egle's Link to the Lithuanian Jewish Community
Egle, age 81, enjoys reminiscing about "the good old days," when her family name was equated with scholarship in Lithuania, and her ancestors made Jewish history in the halls of the local yeshivas. Though she can trace her family roots in Lithuania back 700 years, Egle has endured much hardship on this land.
Born in 1924 to an actively Jewish family, by the time Egle was of studying age the Jewish school where her sister studied had been shut down. As a young woman, she survived World War II by fleeing to Russia; her parents died there, but she was fortunate to be reunited with her two sisters. When Egle returned to Lithuania in 1944, then a librarian, her neighbors were living in her old house and had taken everything the family left behind when they fled. Egle now lives alone in Vilnius, where one of her sisters also resides. Her other living sister made aliyah to Israel. Her greatest joy is her daughter, who lives in Moscow. "She is a university professor," exclaims the proud mother. But like many elderly Jews in Lithuania today, she is without a safety net of young family nearby or sufficient material resources on which to live with dignity. Hers and others’ savings were effectively wiped out following the Soviet Union’s collapse when Lithuania adopted the Lita in place of the ruble, which was accepted only at nominal value and eaten away by inflation. Since that time, the deterioration of State-sponsored social services and difficult economic conditions in the Baltic States has left many like Egle in the Jewish community wanting for basic needs — food, medication, and companionship. To ameliorate conditions for the most vulnerable among the pensioners, which comprise an overwhelming 50% of the Jewish population in Latvia and Lithuania, JDC provides welfare services and activities in partnership with the local communities. Homebound, Egle can no longer go to the Jewish Community Center to partake in educational programs or holiday celebrations. She does, however, greatly look forward to occasional visits from the Elderly Club, which animate her. In addition, a homecare worker comes to Egle three times a week through the JDC and the Jewish community of Vilnius, and she receives vital medical assistance, including medications. Nonetheless, as Egle is not eligible for Holocaust restitution funds, she cannot be provided the optimal level of services. She does not receive Meals on Wheels or other food services, as she wants to retain this aspect of her independence. "I believe others are more in need of this service than I am," says the sweet, elderly woman. "I am managing alright." |
