Double Success for Hesed Medical Equipment Factory

In 1995, in Russia, the St. Petersburg Hesed established a factory to produce medical equipment for people needing special assistance. This factory has become so successful that several years later JDC has encouraged the factory to become privatized. Now it is to be run on a commercial basis to service Hesedim throughout the former Soviet Union, and to begin to sell to the community at large to make profits that would then be put back into the Hesed.

In 2002, the factory made a net profit of U.S. $80,000 on a turnover of over U.S. $400,000. They now sell 20 percent of their manufactured goods to other Hesedim, at cost, and 80 percent on the open market where they enjoy an excellent reputation for quality. The revenues were used to help the St. Petersburg Hesed rent an extra 2,000 square meters of space to service individuals currently ineligible for JDC/Claims Conference support.

This is truly an example of empowerment and self-sufficiency at its best.