Words of Thanks from a Gifted JDC- Hesed client

Rosa, age 79, has been a client of the JDC-supported Hesed social welfare center in Tashkent for nearly five years. "Two years ago a big misfortune happened to me," she shares. "I broke my hand and could not do any work at home or take care of my husband. Great thanks to Hesed, they provided me with the medical equipment and Home Care worker who helped a lot and is still helping us." Like so many other Hesed clients in the former Soviet Union, Rosa and her husband rely on the welfare services they receive in order to live with dignity, including food packages, eyeglasses, bedding, and assistance with home repairs.

Born on March 12, 1925 in Kremenchug, Ukraine, Rosa was a teenager enrolled in high school when WWII broke out. On September 10th, 1941, she and her parents were evacuated to Kazakhstan while her brother was in the army. In 1943, the family moved to Soldatskoe, a village outside of Tashkent, where they found their relatives. There Rosa completed her schooling, earning a diploma that would enable her to enter any institute of higher learning without taking further entrance examinations. She chose to attend the Tashkent Financial Institute, but her studies were interrupted when she gave birth to a baby girl with disabilities and had to go back to work. After working as a senior economist for 17 years, Rosa retired on a pension in 1980.

When, in 1998, her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren left Uzbekistan for Germany, Rosa refused to go. "It would be against my conscience to go to Germany after my relatives’ and brother’s death," she explained. She lives with her husband, who suffered a stroke and is currently very ill. Though Rosa was once an active participant in the Hesed Club events – particularly the Poetry Club, as she writes wonderful verses – her spouse's condition does not allow her to attend meetings as regularly now. She, herself, suffers from coronary heart disease and diabetes which has caused severe glaucoma and blindness in one eye. Rosa regularly receives medicines from Hesed that help her to maintain her health.

As a sign of her gratitude for the service and love she has received, Rosa dedicated the following poem to the Hesed in Tashkent:

Jewish Home

Sadness and sorrow…
How it hurts my soul.
Our family left,
My husband and I are alone.
It is so sad to remember
How fate has separated us,
We are left to wait
For letters to arrive.
You invite us in your letters,
And would never understand
That to go to your country
I would not and could not.
But we are not alone here,
We have the Jewish home.
And as I write these lines,
I think of words of kindness.
Support, warmth and Care
Is always there for us.
It gives us strength,
We live with hope that
Home will bring us joy
For days to come.

-- Rosa

Translated by Margo Klein