Author: Elisabeth

Life Goes on After the Celebrations, Marked by Aid Deliveries

At the beginning of June, Samuel Huber-Huber and his son Noah once again delivered an aid shipment to Radauti on the Ukrainian border, where it was picked up by our partners Tanya and Stefan. The shipment again contained a variety of essential items such as clothing, bedding, small furniture, and children’s toys. Donation to the Jewish Community of Bucharest for… Read more →

30th Anniversary of the Finnish Association – A Heartfelt and Impressive Celebration of Gratitude in Hämeenlinna

On May 23rd, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our association at the Poltinaho Community Center in Hämeenlinna, together with approximately 60 friends. Moderated by Jarmo Majamaa, we heard moving speeches, a look back at the association’s history, reports from staff members, and reminiscences and greetings from our partners. Ulla and Pete Ronkainen delighted the audience with Christian and Hebrew… Read more →

Travel Impressions

Georg, who, along with a second driver, delivered aid supplies to the Romanian-Ukrainian border in November 2025 and January 2026, recounts: “In November 2025, an old friend asked me if I would be willing to drive a transport of aid supplies for Ukraine from Vienna to Rădăuți on the Romanian-Ukrainian border. Since I have some ties to Romania, but hadn’t… Read more →

Hanukkah 2025 in Bucharest

The recipients of this year’s Hanukkah gifts were elderly Jewish people living in Bucharest. We prepared a total of 70 gift bags, as well as some personal packages and sweets for children. The project was carried out in cooperation with the organization Alef. The roads are now mostly well-developed, but there are still some sections on the Romanian side where… Read more →

Delivering Hope: My 2,000 km Aid Journey to the Ukrainian Border

Helping people in need matters. Recently, I had the chance to do my part—just a small contribution, but meaningful. Hilfe & Hoffnung (H&H), a Vienna-based organization, has a simple yet powerful mission: to support disadvantaged communities in Eastern Europe. They’ve already done incredible work in Romania, where there’s no state system to care for families and individuals in crisis. When… Read more →

Musical Sunday Afternoon on September 7, 2025, at the Bálint Ház Jewish Cultural Center in Budapest

This cooperation project with FIDA International eV and MASZ (Joint Budapest) was held this time, unlike in previous years, in a café setting. We set up this café in the middle of the Bálint Ház cultural center, where the audience could enjoy the magnificent performance of opera singer Matti Turunen, appreciative speeches, and pastries and cakes at ten round tables.… Read more →

Friendly Visits

At the beginning of the new year, we – Hannu, Anne and Andrei Roth – made a long trip to Romania. The main goal of this trip was to meet friends we had not seen for years, but also to take relief supplies and personal gifts. We crossed the northern part of Romania from west to east – from Satu… Read more →

Truckloads of Love in the Form of Christmas and Hanukkah Packages for Children in Teleorman District

Love in shoe boxes After the Finnish service on Sunday 10/11, about 10 hardworking friends met to arrange useful things in shoe boxes and in the evening we were able to carry 96 beautifully wrapped gifts to our car. When we finally left, there were 125 packages in total. The gift packages were packed in large cardboard boxes and labeled… Read more →

Journey across the Carpathians

In mid-October, Eeva Virolainen and Ilona Turunen brought relief supplies to the Ukrainian border in Radauti. Eeva and Ilona report: 10/12/2024 We set off from Budapest towards Romania. The car had already been almost completely loaded with relief supplies in Vienna and Anne then brought the car to Budapest. The load included clothes, food, mattresses, two beds, diapers, washing powder,… Read more →

Valued Visitor from Bucharest

At the invitation of Anne and Hannu Ylitalo, Janina Ilie from the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania came to Vienna for a long weekend at the beginning of June 2024. The highlights of her stay were a relaxed exchange over dinner with musical accompaniment on the electric piano by Andrei Roth, a trip to Kahlenberg including a panoramic view… Read more →