MIGDAL IN ACTION – HELPING PEOPLE TO SURVIVE IN THE MIDST OF A RAGING WAR, TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF WAR IN UKRAINE

Dear Friends, 

It has been more than two and a half years since the beginning of the horrifying wartime reality in Ukraine. This summer brutal Russian attacks on infrastructure resulted in ongoing  shortages and outages of electricity and water. When electricity was turned off for hours every day during high heat, people were deprived of basic needs, the ability to cook food, to wash, and to use air conditioners. It is rare when there are no sirens and rocket attacks in the middle of the night. Children have to be moved immediately to bomb shelters and corridors, because it is dangerous to stay in the rooms near the windows. During rocket and drone attacks every day and night we are helping as many people as we can. 

Migdal continues doing its best to sustain and operate all of its vital programs and services  under extremely difficult and dangerous conditions for the past two and a half years of war. Thousands of people already benefited from our Netzach Help Center that we launched in 2022. Children with disabilities, Holocaust survivors, migrants from Cherson, Mykolaiv, Mariupol, Bachmut, Donetsk, and many others, are all part of our Migdal family.  People come to us with multiple problems. We help them to receive assistance with food, clothes, social programs, education, professional psychotherapy, and more. Many adults and children come to the Netzah Help Center to receive hot meals when there is no electricity and they can’t cook or warm up food at home. All aspects of life are being affected by uncertainty and instability, and many  people suffer from insomnia, anxiety and depression. Our psychologists are working with all who need urgent mental help. 

Since the beginning of the war Migdal took families and children out of the war zone four times to Migdal International Jewish Family Retreat Halom in Bucharest, Romania, in Budapest and Szarvas, Hungary, in Brasov, Romania, and in Vadul lui Voda near Chișinău, Moldova. We embarked on a journey of compassion and support and created unforgettable, unique experiences for all participants. It felt like a fairy tale coming out of a place with sleepless nights, loud sirens, streets filled with pieces of broken windows shattered from explosions to an incredible island of freedom and joy. Children who were taken out of the war zone felt themselves free of stress, anxiety, sirens, and bombings.They enjoyed unique educational programming and loved great entertainment. Memories of the days spent in Halom filled with family atmosphere, friendship, collaboration, understanding and inspiration will be warming their hearts for a long time. 

Regardless of cruel reality, Migdal continues full operations of all of its programs. Jewish Museum Shorashim, Mazl Tov Early Childhood Development Center, Migdal Torah Lunch for Holocaust Survivors, Migdal Freedom for children with disabilities to name a few. Migdal also started its new Manifest of Life Program, which was created to provide psychological and mental help support through phototherapy to people traumatized by war. Many families participated in Manifest of Life and it helped them to fight depression and fears, pain and shock, loss and grief. We are also launching Migdal Work Connect, where we will be organizing a school for professional development courses and training for teenagers and adults, and then connecting our graduates to potential employers.  

We are very grateful to all our friends, organizations, and the international community from the US, Israel, England, France, Monaco, and Holland who have helped us to provide our services to all in need. The needs are countless and urgent, and the costs are enormous! Now, with the end of the war nowhere in sight, your help is crucial! If you are interested to be a part of our Migdal family, join our programs, donate or sponsor our future events or services, please visit our website to learn more, www.migdalworld.org