Why we opened this campaign
My name is Judith. At the end of 2021, my husband and I made aliyah to Israel with our four children. We both found jobs fairly quickly. Of course, starting our lives over in a new country was not easy, but little by little, we managed, including by relying on our savings. Since then, thank G-d, we have welcomed two more babies into our family, and today we have six children.
A year ago, we moved to another city, and the move came with significant expenses. Later, we discovered that there were outstanding debts connected to the apartment that were not ours, but we had to pay them to avoid having our water and heating disconnected. All of our expenses and agreements are documented. However, a year later, we still have not been reimbursed for either the repairs or the money we spent covering someone else’s debts. The total amount is approximately NIS 10,000. We will, of course, continue trying to recover this money, but we understand that it will take time.
A few months after the move, I lost my job and began receiving unemployment benefits. I received them until the birth of our child, after which the payments were suspended while I stayed home to care for the baby. I have now registered with the Employment Service again, but the payments will not resume until next month.
Until recently, my husband continued working and was essentially supporting our large family on his own. But last month, he also lost his job. We have not yet been able to apply for unemployment benefits because his former employer has not provided all the necessary documents. My husband immediately found temporary work, but he has not yet received his first payment.
And so, our family, in which both of us have always worked and done everything we could to support our children independently, suddenly found itself with almost no current income. After all our recent expenses, we had not had time to rebuild our financial safety net. Right now, we are borrowing money just to cover our most essential expenses.
Two of our children are still very young, so I am currently at home with them. For a long time, I have dreamed of retraining as a nurse so that I can gain a new profession and return to work. The training is expected to cost approximately NIS 6,000 for the entire program. In addition, once the school year begins, I will need to arrange childcare for our youngest children so that I can study and work.
We have no relatives in Israel whom we can rely on for support. We have friends and our synagogue community, who support us and help as much as they can.
When we had a stable income, we always tried to help others ourselves, setting aside maaser and giving tzedakah. It is very difficult for me to now find myself on the other side and have to ask for help.
We do not want to live on assistance indefinitely. We simply need help getting through this difficult period until our benefits resume and we can return to earning a stable income.
The Bituach Leumi child allowance for all six of our children amounts to NIS 1,176 per month. It is certainly helpful, but it covers only a small fraction of the basic expenses of a large family.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who can help our family today and give me the opportunity to return to work and once again support our children independently. Any amount makes a difference right now and will help us cover our most essential expenses.
Thank you to everyone who responds, supports us, or shares our request with others.
