“You listen to the longings of those who suffer. You offer them hope, and you pay attention to their cries for help.” Psalm 10:17 (CEV)
When we met with Ludmilla and her father to prepare her for her move to live in our Kalaniot Children’s Home, I was struck by the immense sadness in her eyes. Ludmilla’s mother suddenly died one year ago from a freak and tragic illness that quickly overtook her body. Right after her mother’s death, her father began battling an addiction problem so severe that he is now no longer able to care for Ludmilla.
This sweet and sensitive 15-year-old loves her father so much. She had taken on the burden of her father’s illness and tried with all of her heart and soul to help him overcome his addiction. Unfortunately, this is just too much to ask of a 15-year-old causing her to spiral into a deep depression.
Today Ludmilla is receiving intensive psychological care while living in our Kalaniot home. We have worked with her father and persuaded him to enter a work and rehabilitation programme in Israel and our goal is to reunite this daughter and father in Israel where they can move forward with a healthy new start in their lives. This is what aliyah is really all about: raising up Jewish lives so they are healthy and whole and then bringing them home to Israel where they can rise up to God.
