Under constant attack, Daniel fields calls for help around the clock
The Chabad.org/News team wishes to introduce you to Daniel, a 21-year-old staffer at the Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish community in eastern Kiev, who has been devoting night and day caring for the elderly and other vulnerable people in Kiev’s eastern flank, known as the “Left Bank.”
He is among the hundreds of Chabad staff in 32 cities who have been a lifeline for their communities, providing food, shelter and transportation to safety to those in danger due to the war in Ukraine.
Like his colleagues, even as death and destruction abound, he continues his work of feeding, encouraging and caring for those around him. Those wishing to support his work can donate directly at this link. What follows is a translation of Daniel’s dispatch from the field.
Dear Friends,
At the moment, we are mostly busy providing food for members of our Jewish community and other residents of Kyiv. The routine consists of shopping, cooking, packing, compiling lists and making deliveries.
Every day, I receive an incredible amount of calls and messages from people asking for help procuring things like food and medicine, information about evacuations and how to get around within Kiev, etc.
More often than not, I don’t have time to finish one phone conversation before picking up the next call. The needs are constant.
Right now, we are working on preparing food products and ready meals. The majority of those who need help are elderly people who find it difficult to get to the store themselves or others who cannot make it out.
At the moment, procuring medicines is becoming more and more difficult. There are long lines at every pharmacy and once inside almost nothing at all to purchase. We are now looking for a pharmacist who can mixthe medicines so that I can pick them up and we’ll have what to bring to our “customers.”
Everywhere, in stores, pharmacies and gas stations, there are incredibly long queues. Moreover, not all stores have basic products such as eggs, vegetables, fruits, cereals, yeast, sugar, etc. And as basic economics will tell you, the higher the demand, the higher the price. This is especially noticeable at the few gas stations that continue to operate.
This means that everything we do costs a tremendous amount of money. It’s one thing to make sure you have enough food for yourself, but it’s another thing to have so many mouths relying on you. At the moment, we have about 50 addresses relying on us for regular food and medicine deliveries—more than 100 people each time.
Thank G‑d, generous donors are keeping us afloat, but every time I walk into a store I get worried: will there be enough money for the next time?
Let me describe, for a moment, the atmosphere here in Kiev since Feb. 24, the day the invasion began. I cannot give specific details about what we’ve seen and heard here, but I can say that in my treks throughout Kiev I’ve seen the results of the explosions. They’ve clearly landed in places they should not have. I’ve seen with my own eyes homes destroyed by rocket fire in the first days of the war. It’s happening right here, where I am now.
To see such a thing in a photo or to see it live are two different experiences. Especially when you know that your friends live in the building you’re looking at, just a few floors below where the impact was. They were spared, thank G‑d. But can you even say that they were lucky? Can you say that anyone was lucky at all? After all, not everyone was lucky; the rocket might have missed your home, but it certainly struck someone else’s.
There are generally enough people out on the streets, they’re not empty. I think this is due to the fact that many want to demonstrate that they are free people and will not cow before orders of others. They are not afraid.
But, of course, there are many who do not go anywhere at all.
I’ve made the decision to live by the Chassidic adage: “Think good—it will be good.” I don’t really worry very much about what can go wrong. I trust the Almighty that He will protect me as needed. In any case, He knows what is truly needed.
I continue to eat only kosher, keep Shabbat, do not miss any of the daily prayers and even try to study a little Torah. With G‑d’s help, when you set yourself on the path towards the Almighty, He comes to greet you.
Purim is coming soon. I’m preparing a little, thinking how I can encourage as many people to fulfill as many of the Purim mitzvahs as possible. With G‑d’s help, I hope that our Purim will be filled with joy and gladness!
The Ukraine Jewish Relief Fund has been established to help provide assistance to the Jewish communities in Ukraine impacted by the war.
Click here for a prayer you can say and a list of good deeds you can do in the merit of the protection of all those in harm’s way.
