Trailblazing initiative to ‘prioritise women’ launched by World Jewish Relief
Rwandan, Ukrainian and Syrian women speak at JW3 about how the Jewish charity has helped them through hard times
World Jewish Relief have launched a trailblazing initiative to “prioritise women and girls” across its work with an event at JW3 to hear from Rwandan, Ukrainian and Syrian women.
The charity, which is currently fundraising for its Indonesia appeal and works in some of the world’s poorest areas, held its inaugural Women and World Jewish Relief event to promote its new push.
Across the globe, women and girls are disproportionately more likely than men and boys to be in poverty, and the speakers explained how they hoped their own daughters would not have to face the problems of this generation.
Kafa, who fled Syria with her family, said: “All my life I dreamt of coming to Britain, but as a tourist, not a refugee.” Despite her university qualification and degree-level English, she found she could not work in the UK, so WJR has helped her get the necessary British qualifications.
In Rwanda, Valentine survived genocide and now spends her days helping children living on the streets, where she is known as “mother”. WJR supports her efforts to help these children into employment.
Viktoria, from the Ukrainian city of Kharkov, said: “Our Jewish women have been through a lot and they’ve lost a lot. It’s painful to see how difficult their older age is. The things we do for these women make their lives better. They are an integral part of our Jewish family and we must look after them.”
She spoke movingly about how her grandfather saved the family from the Nazis, but how they later survived only by hiding their faith. It was only aged 30 that Viktoria discovered that she was Jewish and now dedicates her life to the community.
In one of several supportive messages, the Laviot network for queer Jewish women said: “Women face violence, discrimination, injustice and inequality every day around the world. It was a privilege to hear from three amazing women who fight for, and provide the rights and safety of, other women.”
WJR chief executive Paul Anticoni said: “Women have less access to land, education, income, decision-making, political influence and opportunity – all of which keeps them in a cycle of poverty – we want to change that.”
In Eastern Europe, women make up a large proportion of those the charity helps, in part because the Soviet Union lost over 20 million citizens during World War Two, the majority of whom were men.
“Their sisters and widows now make up 80 percent of our social isolation, home repairs and homecare programmes for the elderly,” he said. “These dignified, courageous and hard-working women have endured so much and need our support.”
The London-based charity supported more than 56,000 women and girls last year, across 20 countries, providing home repairs, health and welfare services such as homecare and eyesight tests, and help finding employment.
It also provides humanitarian aid to countries hit by tragedy, such as Indonesia, where it is working with a trusted local partner in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami.
Anticoni said: “As well as the immediate impact, these women and girls are also vulnerable to increased rates of sexual and domestic violence. Women are left to care for those affected which increases their workload and emotional burden.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
