Long before Hanukkah in December, we and a friend prepared about a hundred Hanukkah gift packages that we wanted to take with us on our trip to Ukraine at the end of October. The packages consisted of hand-knitted Finnish wool socks and a large bar of chocolate. On October 25th we set off from Vienna for the first stage to… Read more →
Just in time for the start of the school year, Samuel Huber-Huber, Noah Huber-Huber and I successfully transported a number of necessary items such as school bags, toys, school supplies and hygiene products to Chernivtsi in Ukraine. On site we received valuable support from the organization “New Family”, where we were warmly welcomed by Tanya Berezhnaya, the leader. Tanya kindly… Read more →
It was a pleasure to meet many friends at the garden party and charity concert in Hämeenlinna. Eeva and Jarmo had again organized a wonderful party with lots of friends. “Thank you for allowing us to enjoy great music, togetherness and a coffee table in your beautiful orchard again. For all of us – about 60 guests – it was… Read more →
INVITATION to a charity concert in Hämeenlinna Sanna Matinniemi – Soprano Jenna Ristilä – Piano Wednesday, August 16, 2023 at 6:00 p.m Church of Hämeenlinna, Finland The concert offers a varied program of spirituals & gospels, songs and Viennese operetta melodies. With the proceeds of the concert we would like to support the Jewish community of Chernivtsi, which in turn… Read more →
The rapeseed fields were blooming in the glorious sunshine and the colors made us think of Ukraine, to whose border we were on our way in mid-May 2023 to deliver a load of relief supplies. The day before we left, our new van was only half full, but thanks to donations from our Viennese friends, we were finally able to… Read more →
On Tuesday, January 24, 2023, I made my way back to the Ukrainian border. This time I was traveling alone, so I took a little more time for the drive. This proved necessary as crossing the Carpathians took more time. In mid-December I received a call asking when I would be traveling to Ukraine to bring help. I answered, “Not… Read more →
Early Friday morning, November 4th, 2022, I met my wife Anita and Hannu Ylitalo in Budapest. After breakfast we drove to Romania in a van from HELP and HOPE. We arrived in Satu Mare just before noon. The former president of the Jewish community, Decsei Nicolae, welcomed us with his team in front of one of the city center hotels.… Read more →
At the end of October 2022, Leena Hakala and Anne Laine came to Vienna for a Hanukkah workshop. These two hardworking volunteers put together sixty attractive gift bags for the Jewish community of Rădăuți in eastern Romania. We also bought groceries for Ukraine. Leena and Anne report on their workshop experiences below: “When we first planned the Hanukkah gift packs… Read more →
At the beginning of September, I managed to combine a business trip with an aid transport to Oradea. Thanks to the HELP and HOPE team and a group of friends, we received a significant amount of clothes and shoes. Groceries such as flour, macaroni, sugar, coffee, tea, oil and chocolate were bought in a Viennese wholesale shop. Of course, hygiene… Read more →
To keep it that way, we need a new transporter with which we can continue to bring donations and relief supplies to Ukraine. The war is not over yet, many already lost their lives and many had to flee. The cold winter, the dysfunctional energy infrastructure and poor supply put people in need. They urgently need warm clothes, sleeping bags,… Read more →
