A new program of the Jewish Agency connects elderly people who immigrated to Israel following the war in Ukraine with students who speak the language, in order to help the elderly cope with the challenges of absorption and loneliness.
An initial and successful pilot was completed after a year of trial in Karmiel, and now the goal is to expand it to additional areas in Israel. As part of the program, called "Choosing Tomorrow Together," which was carried out in cooperation with the municipality and with the support of CVI and Keren Hayesod, students who themselves are immigrants, or who are second generation immigrants, began accompanying elderly people who immigrated from Ukraine following the war, after undergoing group training in which they acquired tools for entrepreneurship, leadership and community responsibility. Each student mentored an elderly person or an elderly couple, most of them childless, and accompanied them during the academic year. Alongside the personal mentoring, joint events were also held, and the students tell of personal relationships formed with the elderly.
Footage from the Ukrainian border, photo: social networks
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In a pilot conducted over the past year, 12 male and female students participated in accompanying 47 elderly people who were absorbed in Karmiel during the past year, and now the Jewish Agency has begun recruiting volunteer students for the next academic year.
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Rima and Alexander Kamin are a married couple in their early 70s. A year ago, they left their home in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and immigrated to Israel. In their homeland, they worked as teachers of mathematics and physics for gifted students. They were both good and beloved teachers, and to this day the strong connection has been maintained and they accompany their students via Zoom. When they arrived in Israel, they needed support for community and cultural acclimatization in Israel and communication with the welfare systems.
Alisa Alievsky, who accompanied them, says: "I helped them receive a special old-age pension and translated letters, I explained to them a little about Karmiel and the country. I keep them company. It's not easy to come to a new country at their age, and they need a listening ear. I come to them once a week, help and help them with problems that arise in their daily lives in Israel."
Dana Sachs, Director of the Israel Unit at the Jewish Agency, says: "The program fosters mutual responsibility in Israeli society, and enables students to volunteer in their local communities. Students and seniors in the program that opened in Karmiel have a common language, also in the cultural sense. Being a new immigrant is never easy, and for the elderly who immigrated alone as a result of the war, it is even harder. The students also speak the language of the elderly, and are also familiar with the absorption challenges that the elderly face – so their support is important."
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