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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
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 →
As many relief goods were donated, we decided to make a relief trip to the Ukrainian border. We only had three days, but we thought that would be enough, as we had no other appointments than the delivery of the goods at the Ukrainian border in Radauti. This time the cargo included food, washing powder, clothes, baby food, diapers, mattresses,… Read more →
A furniture donation was the reason to travel again to Oradea, Romania (located right on the Hungarian-Romanian border) at the end of April 2024 and to support people2people (https://people2people.ro) with various relief supplies. This service mainly takes care of Roma children, i.e. children’s clothing was a priority alongside the furniture, including a desk. So a friend was contacted who had… Read more →
Pesach, the Jewish festival of Passover, is celebrated for seven days (eight days in Romania), according to Leviticus 23:5-6. This year it took place from April 22nd to 30th. On the first two days, the Seder meal is eaten and the Haggadah is read, which tells of the liberation of the Jews from Egyptian slavery under the leadership of Moses.… Read more →
