World Jewish Relief - Present Work

Present Work

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 prompted CBF to shift the focus of its aid efforts to support the two million Jews living there. CBF changed its name to World Jewish Relief in 1994 and has since the early 1990s focused on addressing the causes of poverty in the communities in which it works, in addition to meeting immediate needs. WJR integrated with World Jewish Aid in 2007. WJR currently funds three main types of projects: meeting immediate needs of vulnerable communities, securing sustainable livelihoods for those in poverty, and responding to international disasters.

• Meeting Immediate Needs: WJR works with vulnerable communities in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), primarily in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, and Georgia, who often depend on meagre state pensions or welfare entitlements. In those areas, the charity funds homecare, medical expenses and food for clients, and supplements this programme through a Gifts in Kind programme that delivers donated materials directly to the communities in which it works. WJR also works in communities to repair and renovate cold and insecure homes, offering their residents relief from the harsh winter weather conditions. The charity also works with partners in Ukraine to provide support for socially isolated communities, and it works with partners in Ukraine, Moldova and India to empower people living with disabilities there, with services including job training, specialist therapy, and wheelchair accessibility improvements.
• Sustainable Livelihoods: World Jewish Relief launched its Livelihood Development Programme (LDP) in 2009, which currently operates in Moldova and Ukraine. The Moldova LDP works with women from vulnerable communities to provide job training, as well as Romanian language instruction, with the goal of program graduates finding employment and increased income. The Ukraine LDP works with men and women to provide job trainings and establish job centres in local Jewish Community Centres. WJR also works with partners in Rwanda to provide educational and vocational training to orphaned and street children.
• Disaster Response: WJR leads the British Jewish community's response to international disasters, recently working in Japan, Pakistan, Haiti, and countries in East Africa. In Japan, WJR worked with Save the Children to establish spaces for displaced children following the 2011 tsunami there. After the 2010 floods in Pakistan, WJR worked with partners to provide immediate needs to displaced communities in Bagh District and restore homes that had been damaged or destroyed. WJR still works with partners there to train women affected by the flood in embroidery techniques. WJR worked with Merlin following the 2010 Haiti earthquake to provide medical services for those in need, and it worked primarily in Kenya with partners to provide food services for those suffering from the East Africa food crisis.