Sustainable help is only possible through developing close contacts on-site, which is a critical lesson we learned during our many years of work in Belarus. We are delighted to have partnered with the Chesed-Rachamim Jewish Center in Minsk, a highly capable and talented organization, to drive our social projects.

 

The «Chesed Rachamim» center was established in 1994. Today, it is an essential social and cultural organization with social workers, psychologists, carers, pedagogical specialists, and many other volunteers who look after needy people, mostly of the Jewish faith (this cannot always be determined and is therefore not an exclusionary criterion). It has a staff of around 300 employees and 150 volunteers, which looks after around 5,500 people in and around Minsk. They are doing pioneering work, especially in caring for people with disabilities, which is just beginning to become available in Belarus.

 

The ajs focuses on specific projects for children, youth, and older people with disabilities or limitations. We regularly support these projects financially, providing support to individual children and young people or their families with one-time financial contributions. Chesed-Rachamim as a whole is largely financed by the Joint (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee), and the ajs's contributions form an important part of the budget for the individual projects.