What's the Problem and How Can Kids Help?

Life is tough for Jewish kids in the former Soviet Union. Hundreds - maybe thousands - of Jewish kids are living on the streets because they have no one to care for them at home. Even kids living at home may go to bed hungry every night and may be too weak and sick to play and go to school.

How did it get so bad? It's a long story….

A Century of Suffering…

For a long time, Eastern Europe has been a hard place for Jews to live. For hundreds of years, many Jews lived in poor villages called shtetls. About 100 years ago, Jews were killed in riots called "pogroms." Hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed during a civil war in the 1920s. Many starved to death during a famine in the 1930s. During World War II (1939-1945), millions of Jews were murdered by invading Nazi soldiers and by local people who supported the Nazis.

A Nuclear Power Plant Explodes

In 1986, there was an explosion at a nuclear power plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine. 400,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Three to five million people, including two million children, now live in radioactive zones. In these zones children aren't allowed to walk in forests or in rain, play in the parks, or pick wild berries or flowers due to the high levels of radiation. Parents in these zones must check local radiation levels before allowing their children out to school. 90% of children in the contaminated zones are unhealthy. Many have cancer and other diseases caused by radiation.

The Soviet Union Falls Apart

The Soviet Union was a huge country made up of lots of smaller countries - the way the United States has lots of states. Some of these smaller countries are Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Lithuania, and Georgia.

In the Soviet Union, the government owned all the land, houses, factories, and stores. The government promised everyone a home and enough to eat, but it also told people where they could live and even what they could say.

In the Soviet Union, religion was against the law. People could be arrested just for having Passover matzo or lighting Hanukkah candles! It was very difficult for Jews to leave for other countries. They could be sent to jail even for trying. Teachers who taught children about Judaism were exiled to prison camps in Siberia (a cold, harsh place in the far north); many died there.

The Soviet Union split apart at the end of 1991, and its member countries became independent. Some of the former member countries formed the "Commonwealth of Independent States."

The split caused a lot of problems and confusion - people were used to having the government take care of them and tell them what to do. Criminals took advantage of the situation. They stole a lot of money and ended up owning a lot of property.

People now have more freedom - but they may have to struggle to survive. Many of the old state factories shut down and people lost their jobs. People lucky enough to have jobs might not get paid for months - or they get paid in shoes or potatoes instead of money. Some people who start their own businesses are threatened and even killed by criminals who try to make them pay "protection money."

Some families can't afford to feed their own children, so they send them to orphanages - just so they can get enough to eat. Other children live in orphanages because their parents are sick, or have died or disappeared.

Now, Jewish people are free to practice their religion and celebrate Jewish holidays. However, there are still many people who hate Jews. Such people are called "anti-Semites." Some anti-Semites have eaten up or stabbed Jews, bombed synagogues, and set fire to Jewish buildings. Some even attack kids.

Many Jews from the former Soviet Union have moved to Israel, the U.S., and other countries. However, children cannot leave unless they have families to take them.

Although some of the worst problems are in the former Soviet Union, Jewish kids have a hard time in other countries too. In Israel, many children have had parents killed by terrorists. In Argentina, many parents have lost their jobs and money and Jewish children don't get enough to eat.

How You Can Help

Many people are working to make life better for Jewish kids. You can help too!

Tzedakah

"Tzedakah" means charity, but it also means justice - it's only fair that people who have more than enough should give to people who are in need.

Giving tzedakah is a good deed - a mitzvah.But mitzvah also means law - giving tzedakah is one of the things that we are commanded to do by Jewish law.

And giving tzedakah can make you feel great! "For there is no greater joy than to rejoice the hearts of the poor, the orphaned, the widowed, and strangers." (Rambam, Hilchot Megillah)

The easiest way to help is to give money.You can do this on your own or with other kids in your class or community group. Many homes and classrooms already have tzedakah boxes where people put money for needy people right before shabbat.

You can pick a particular organization to help and send the money directly to them; see the list of organizations on this site.

Some kids donate part of their allowance every week to tzedakah. Others give part of their birthday or bar or bat mitzvah money. Others hold bake sales or rummage sales, wash cars, walk pets, or mow lawns. Some hold walk-a-thons, bowl-a-thons, dance-a-thons, or other events.