Fundraising campaign launched to buy righteous woman, 90, a new flat
Lyubov Volchek helped to save Olga Shulman, 11, in 1941, but a British-Israeli activist says she's now 'living in incredibly poor conditions' in her Belorussian town
Jack Mendel is the former Online Editor at the Jewish News.
A fundraising campaign has been launched to buy a flat for a 90-year-old woman who saved Jews during the Holocaust, after a charity discovered the squalor she is currently living in.
Lyubov Volchek is “living in incredibly poor conditions, with no central heating in her home, and not even a toilet on her premises, she does not receive any ongoing support”, according to British-Israeli activist Jonny Daniels, who runs From the Depths.
Living in the town of Hlusk in central Belarus, Lyubov and her family risked their lives by hiding Olga Shulman, 11, after most of the towns 3,500 Jews were rounded up and murdered in 1941.
Olga managed to survive by pretending to have been shot before crawling out from dead bodies, and hiding in a field.
Yad Vashem recognised Lyubov Volchek and her family as Righteous Among the Nations for their actions, but she has now been left without support.
In an emotional video, Daniels, whose charity supports elderly Righteous people, said: “We brought her enough food and medication to last for a few months, but she needs more.”
With your help and in partnership with the Jewish community of Babruysk, the nearest Jewish community, we will be purchasing her an apartment next to the Synagogue, so she can be properly cared for in her final years, she will be a cherished part of the community and have all she needs.”
In under 24-hours, more than £1,200 ($1,700) has already been raised as Daniels appeals for donations to support the Shoah heroine.
Although based in Poland, he travelled to Belarus saying: “I couldn’t leave her like this, I decided to stay and make sure that we take care of her properly, had she have just walked away from helping that young Jewish girl, she wouldn’t have lived. This is the least we can do for her in her time of need”.
- You can view the donation page here: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/the-giving-back-fund-inc/helping-a-hero
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