A Special Diet for a Special Boy

Sergei, age 5, lives with his parents and grandparents in a 2-bedroom apartment - 5 people altogether. His father has a spine disease and cannot work. His mother is a teacher in the kindergarten that he attends. The family's monthly income, including the pensions of the grandparents, is $49.

Through a joint effort and often by giving up their basic needs (saving money on electricity and heat and replacing prescription medicines with cheaper medicinal herbs) Sergei's grandparents and parents try to provide him with enough food to keep him on his medically required diet as he suffers from aggravated biliary dyskinesia, a disease that affects the function of the gallbladder.

Sergei receives a monthly food package from the Children's Initiative and his grandparents also receive similar assistance through the Hesed.