Charity and Pro-Bono Work

Mission to Tikva Children’s Home in Odessa, Ukraine

There are approximately 45,000 Jews living in Odessa, many of whom are struggling to get by amid the devastating economic downturn. Given the extremely low wages that the working class in Ukraine are able to earn (less than $50 per month) as well as the lack of social safety nets like those prevalent in much of the Western world, many parents are not able to support themselves and their children and end up abandoning them out of pure desperation. Consequently, thousands of these children end up suffering while living in substandard conditions at state orphanages where they receive only a rudimentary education. At age 18 they are released to the streets without the necessary skills to make any sort of living, and often resort to drugs and alcohol as a means of getting by.

Tikva Children’s Home is a rescue aid and education organization that houses and nurtures many of these children. Every year it saves the lives of at-risk Jewish children and helps relieve the suffering of impoverished Jewish families living in Odessa, Ukraine. Tikva has also become known as a pioneer in the revitalization of Jewish life in Odessa, helping the Jewish population of Odessa to rebuild their identity destroyed by religious persecution and communist rule.

Within the last 20 years, Tikva has saved over 2,250 Jewish children from the misery of living in ramshackle state orphanages, the corruption of life on the streets, homelessness and the struggles of poverty. Despite its efforts, more than 2,500 desperate Jewish children are still waiting to be rescued.

In late May of 2018, Attorney Inna Fershteyn took a trip to Odessa, Ukraine in an effort to help some of the kids at the Tikva Children’s Home. During her time in Odessa, Ms. Fershteyn was able to raise a total of $10,000 in aid for the children at Tikva.