Success Stories:

Dear friends and sponsors,

Here are some of the situations that Nechai Family Charity has been able to provide assistance:

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Rwanda is a small African country. In the mountainous regions, average monthly salaries are about $50. Here we find a village with a school. The school is well run and has enrollment of 800 students. Teacher salaries are paid by the government, which also provides for a daily lunch for all students and faculty. If they can, parents pay a small tuition of about 50 cents per month. The school is fortunate inasmuch as it has access to running water, despite it being located at the top of a mountain, 2000 feet above the valley floor. Unfortunately, the well and pumping system requires periodic maintenance that is expensive for this poor community. When Nechai Family Charity became aware of it, the water was unfiltered (brown) and unreliable. Nechai Family Charity provided a grant that rebuilt many of the pump stations located along the mountainside, replaced sections of pipe, and installed a 2000L storage tank along with a filtration system. Now the school has a stable supply of clean water. As a result, enrollment at the school has increased to 1100. Further, most students carry a 5 gallon container of water home each day for their families, and about 400 people living nearby the school, as well as 600 living along the mountainside, access the water on a daily basis. In total, some 4000+ people are able to enjoy this revitalized water source.

In a small village in west-central Ukraine there lives a retired couple. She is 65 and he is 75. They both suffer from varicose veins and blood clots. Due to the cost of heating their house, for the winter, they are living in their 10’x12’ cook house with their 3 cats. Their combined pension is about $100 per month. They have no running water: their outhouse, and chicken coop, are attached to the cook house. When the electricity is out (which is up to 18 hours per day during the war), their well pump does not work, nor their electric heater. They must walk over 1 mile to a bus stop to get any food or supplies which, due to their health, is not a viable option. Despite these challenges, they are upbeat and proud of the fight that Ukraine is winning! Nechai Family Charity has visited them and left some money and aspirin (medicines in Ukraine are often not as potent as those available in USA). More importantly, they obtained contact information for their niece, who lives in Poland. Nechai Family Charity volunteers were able to contact the niece and found out that she worked in a hospital! She knew of her aunt’s medical problems, but had not been in contact for a few years and did not know how badly they had deteriorated. Obviously surprised by these messengers, she was grateful to hear this information and is making arrangements for a relative of hers, in Ukraine, to visit her aunt and uncle. We discussed how the likely best next step would be to have a doctor visit them in their home. The Nechai Family Charity remains in communication with the niece and stands ready to help as needed

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There are over 6 million Ukrainians that have temporarily fled to Poland. Nechai Family Charity volunteers recently visited one of these refugee families.

Mother, father, and 3 children reside in a government subsidized 2-room apartment. There are many buildings and over 1,000 apartments in this complex. Almost all are occupied by Ukrainian refugees. As a rule, men between ages 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave Ukraine, however, exceptions exist where the father has at least 3 children and/or a disabled child. The older girl has been in a wheelchair since birth and requires specialized medical care. While Poland, like other EU countries has helped much, the influx of refugees is a strain to their medical, education, and welfare systems. Nechai Family Charity provided a year’s supply of medicine for the girl in 2023 and renewed this in 2024.

As compared to other refugees, this family is relatively better off. Mainly because the father is present, but also significantly due to the efforts of a distant relative who lives nearby. He helped them get settled and found a job for the father. The father earns about 75% of the Poland poverty level wage, but combined with subsidized housing and other support, they are able to survive. Like most refugees, their greatest desire is to return home. However, due to the needs of the disabled child (which would not be met currently in Ukraine), as well as the war’s uncertainty, this remains but a hope for the time being.

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Shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Nechai Family Charity assisted a family in seeking refugee status in Poland. Many European countries have expended considerable resources in helping refugees, none more so than Poland. But finding a lack of jobs (due to the throng of refugees) this family had moved on to Sweden where they were given an apartment in a small town in the rural west, and also provided assistance with food and medical coverage. Unfortunately, work opportunities were limited so the husband has been living and working in Stockholm, some 6 hours away by train, returning monthly to his family. Nechai Family Charity followed up with them and were able to enjoy a day with the mother and daughter, exploring the town. The daughter is bright and energetic. She’s also fearless (like most Ukrainians) as demonstrated by her skateboarding and gymnastics.

There are other refugees in this town, and the mother knew them all (introducing us to many of them). It was good to see them safe. After this, we visited Stockholm to meet with the husband. He has a good job: full-time and permanent, as opposed to day labor. He is on track for Swedish permanent residency and eventual citizenship. Sweden has a much higher cost of living than Poland, and the husband confided that the support they have been receiving will be coming to an end (or at least greatly reduced). Consequently, their plan is for the wife and daughter to join him in Stockholm, and once the daughter starts school, for the mom to find employment. We think this plan will work out for them. It’s good to see a success story!