Finally safe at home

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic the return to Israel (Aliyah) does not stop. New families are arriving in Israel and after the quarantine period, they start their lives on one a kibbutz of First Home in the Homeland!

The Sarozhynskiy family (Viktor, 26, and Kate, 27, with their children Alexandra (5) and Orest (1) come from a small town Ukrainka (about 40 km from Kiev).

“Viktor had visited Israel on the Birthright program, but it was our mutual wish to make Aliyah”, – Kate explains. – “We were active participants in all the online activities of the Jewish Agency in the recent months, and we have kept constant contact with the The Agency coordinators, who introduced us to the programs of absorption, and helped to choose the best suitable option for us.”

“I have a degree in programming, but I have been working as a manager of a car service station”, – says Viktor. – “My wife used to work in tourism, but in recent years she has stayed at home with our kids. Our children’s education is very important to us. We hope that during our 5 months on the kibbutz of the First Home in the Homeland program, we will understand what we should do career wise. The coordinators of the program will help us understand the character of the country, the energy and the opportunities that our young family can make the most of.”

The Kotsyuba family (Vladimir, 44, and Yana, 35, with their daughter Zlata, 10). The family of
three made Aliyah last week from the small town Slavyansk in the Donetsk Region, in the eastern part of Ukraine, where the war started in 2014.

“Once, as I was leaving the house, I saw a military plane, flying over the head of our 4-year-old daughter, playing outside. It was petrifying”, recalls Yana. Another time Vladimir also found himself under fire. There was an explosion pretty near him. At that very same moment, Zlata was walking with her grandmother many miles away in another city! Suddenly the grandmother felt there was danger far away and that she needed to stop and pray. “She and Zlata stopped in the middle of the park and began to pray. We know, that thanks to this Vladimir is alive today.”

“The only reason to keep staying in Ukraine for the last years was our parents that needed to be taken care of. After they passed away, we realized, that it was the right time to go to Israel”, Vladimir says. “We always felt that God is with us. He helped us to obtain all the necessary documents and make Aliyah with the First Home in the Homeland program. Finally, we feel safe at home”.

Support First Home in the Homeland!
First Home in the Homeland provides young families with a warm home on a kibbutz for their first six or twelve months in Israel. For the first six months, the olim (immigrants) will study in Ulpan (school for the intensive study of Hebrew) either three or five mornings weekly, while their children attend schools on the kibbutz or nearby.

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