The volunteer project of the Dnipro Jewish Community, “Tov veChesed,” led by Chana Nesches, visited children in need of special care, as they are growing up without parental supervision and reside in specialized facilities created under the “Good Homes” project.
The theme of this meeting, whose theoretical foundation was the weekly Torah portions “Vayigash” and “Vayechi,” was the ability to maintain a positive attitude towards family values even in the most severe crisis of relationships, as taught by Jewish tradition through the example of Yosef and his brothers. In addition to discussing this painful but highly relevant topic for children in social institutions, the project volunteers also conducted games, organized creative activities, created a good mood for the children, generously shared attention, care, and love, and, as always, brought sweets and treats as gifts.
“We talked with the children about how there have been family conflicts and situations in their lives when a relative behaved inappropriately, but we must always be attuned to the best, because ‘think good and it will be good’ (‘tracht gut, vet zain gut’),” says the project leader, Chana Nesches. “We also spoke with the children about how, despite the difficult circumstances in which many of them currently find themselves, one must not lose faith that everything will be fine, because their internal attitude is extremely important. Hashem always helps children, hears their prayers, and answers them, and our attitude towards reality largely shapes that reality.”
