JDC (The Joint)

Celebrating ImpactWell: Transforming Healthcare in Remote Ghanaian Villages Today I had the privilege of participating in a conference organized by JDC GRID, where the team showcased GRID's groundbreaking health-related work with remote communities in Ghana. Under the visionary leadership of Alon Gilboa and Avital Sandler-Loeff JDC's been making a significant impact in addressing healthcare challenges faced by underserved populations. ImpactWell, is a collaboration between the JDC (The Joint) and the Ruderman Family Foundation. With a budget of $2.4 million, ImpactWell aims to bring Israeli medical technologies to developing countries, starting with Ghana. The focus? The "last mile" – reaching patients in rural areas without proper infrastructure and healthcare systems. ImpactWell's mobile clinics visit Ghanaian villages weekly, providing specialized care and leveraging cutting-edge medical technology. We're talking quicker testing, treatment, and follow-up care for post-surgery patients, post-partum mothers, and children. GRID's partners include local medical organizations like Gye Nyame Mobile Clinics (GNMC), Forte Medical, and Ghana's national tuberculosis and malaria programs. Additionally, JDC collaborates with Israeli biotechnology companies such as Nanox, Minerva XR, Ewave MD, ZZapp Malaria, Nonagon, EFA, and XR Health. By harnessing Israel's medical tech innovations and Jewish philanthropy, ImpactWell ensures that vulnerable individuals, especially mothers and children in far-flung locations, receive modern medical care and thrive. As CEO of JDC, Ariel Zwang aptly puts it: "Among the most urgent global humanitarian needs, access to healthcare is essential." I'm incredibly proud to work for an organization like JDC. Shira Ruderman's words resonate deeply: We don't just talk about values, innovation, and passion – we turn them into a reality. Together, we're building a healthier, more equitable world. #ImpactWell #HealthcareInnovation #GlobalGood --- *Learn more about JDC's impactful work: [GRID Resources Center](https://lnkd.in/da-zH9Ng *Read the full article on our Ghana initiative: [JDC, Ruderman family team up to bring better health care to remote Ghanaian villages](https://lnkd.in/d-VMYjRW

The JDC-supported NOEK Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, has recently expanded its “Connect-to-Care” project — part of JDC’s JOINTECH initiative across the former Soviet Union that provides smartphones to isolated Jewish seniors, along with other programs that leverage technology to innovate care. Through “Connect-to-Care,” volunteers work one-on-one with elderly Jews, teaching them how to connect with their families and friends and remember they are a treasured part of the wider Jewish community. The smartphones also allow JDC homecare workers to monitor their clients’ physical and emotional needs. “The new smartphone brought me joy and admiration,” said Anyuta M., 74, who lives in Voznesensk, 90 kilometers outside of Mykolaiv. “I'm trying hard to figure it out, and I'm succeeding! After my husband died, I felt extremely lonely, but when I joined the project, I found people with whom I enjoy communicating. I thank JDC for such a necessary project." JDC volunteer Maria S. said she finds the project to be extremely important and meaningful. “Seeing their joy and gratitude is the best reward,” she told us. “By helping elderly people master smartphones, we improve the quality of their lives and further integrate them into the Jewish community, expanding their ability to communicate and receive information."

Pride Month this year was such a joy, and even though we are now in July, our commitment to the Jewish LGBTQ+ community lasts 365 days a year. The JDC-supported JCC Budapest - Bálint Ház in Hungary hosted nine pride events last month. These included a queer movie screening followed by a talkback with a rabbi, Lutheran pastor, and Buddhist leader, who discussed the relationship between religion and LGBTQ+ identities. Additionally, there was a queer Shabbat service, a pride march, and various panel discussions. The diverse and inclusive programming highlighted the intersection of faith and LGBTQ+ identities, fostering a sense of community and understanding.

The legacy of the late Yossi Bachar, former Director General of Israel's Ministry of Finance and Russell Berrie Foundation trustee, lives on in the Bachar Fellowship, a program to spearhead systemic change in Israel’s public and social sectors. Offered by JDC (The Joint)-ELKA, the Fellowship equips a new generation of exceptional leaders with the tools, knowledge, environment, and time to tackle complex, systemic challenges that can result in change to benefit all of Israeli society. This year’s Bachar Fellows are Professor Nachman Ash, former Ministry of Health director-general and Israel’s national COVID-19 coordinator, who aims to improve community health in Israel’s periphery, and Hilla Haddad Chmelnik, former Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology director-general, who will focus on the education system to prepare Israeli society for the impact of AI. For a deeper dive into the Bachar Fellowship’s impact, read this recent CTech story. Cc Angelica Berrie Amit Granek Rani Dudai Ori Gil

Shabbat Shalom from the JDC-supported Hesed Nefesh social welfare center in Poltava, Ukraine! This past Shabbat, some 45 homebound Jewish seniors from Poltava, Sumy, Konotop, and Kryvyi Rih gathered virtually to light candles and sing traditional songs. “As we celebrate Shabbat with our community elderly online, we send wishes of peace and happiness to the global Jewish community and Jews of all ages,” said one of the madrichim (counselors) who led the virtual event. “Our unity is especially important now in these difficult times.”

For Jews everywhere, the world feels like a difficult place to live in right now — and Ukraine's Jews feel this tension more intensely than most. That's why the JDC-supported Hesed Nefesh social welfare center in Poltava recently organized a Shabbat retreat that united four cities in northeastern Ukraine — Sumy, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, and Kryvyi Rih. The participants themselves helped plan the three-day program, which included Shabbat and Havdalah services, presentations on Jewish life from each of the four cities, as well as art therapy classes, somatic therapy, and individual sessions with trained psychologists. “Our community is under psychological stress — and people have few opportunities to come together, especially people from frontline cities,“ Svetlana M., who heads up JDC’s trauma support initiatives in Ukraine, told us. “That's why this retreat was essential: Participants met with other communities, received trauma support, and fostered connections that will continue long after this is over.“ But the event didn't just unite different cities — it united different generations, too. A team of madrichim (counselors) with the Active Jewish Teens (AJT) network — the JDC youth program in the former Soviet Union (FSU) in partnership with BBYO — spent time with elderly community members, leading group activities and lighting Shabbat candles. The Shacharit (morning) prayer was also said, a first for many of the participants. “This was like a magical world where everyone is on the same wavelength, enjoying life together, " Oleg., 69, a JDC client from Zaporizhzhia, told us. "It's especially valuable that we immerse ourselves in our Jewish traditions. We'll always remember gathering for the Shabbat and Havdalah services, reading prayers and singing together. I was delighted!"

Happy 4th of July! In this 1943 photo, Jewish refugee children watch the American flag wave on the grounds of a children’s home in New York. They came to the U.S. via Portugal under the auspices of the United States Committee for the Care of European Children. 📸: Paul Parker

Summer is here and school is out, which means children across the world are heading off to camp. Even in Odesa, Ukraine — where the Jewish community contends with blackouts, shelling, and frequent air raid sirens — life has been no different. Some 30 children ages 6-12, including internally displaced people (IDPs), participated in a two-week day camp at the JDC-supported Migdal Jewish Community Center (JCC). There, madrichim (counselors) led campers in learning more about Jewish traditions, as well as organized classic camp activities such as swimming, horseback riding, and arts and crafts. “I would like to express my deep gratitude to JCC Migdal and JDC, and say thank you to our caring and creative madrichim for organizing this camp,” said Iryna L, whose son Oleg was a camper. “For children, these are two weeks of exciting events, socialization, and discovering new knowledge and creative abilities.”

The arts are for everyone. That's why Equal Opportunities exists, an inclusive theater program that gives people with disabilities the chance to act in major stage productions. Through the collaboration of the JDC-supported Solomonika Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Dnipro and Mazal Tov JCC in Zaporizhzhia, Equal Opportunities recently staged a production of “Light in the Darkness” — a play about the challenges of living with disabilities — at the Dnipro Philharmonic. “'Equal Opportunities is a truly unique program,” Inessa N., director of JCC Mazal Tov, told us. “In the face of disability and severe illness, these actors came not in search of help, but to develop creative opportunities for everyone.” Mariana, the playwright and the production’s director of Light in the Darkness, has a disability herself, and is an active participant in Jewish life through the Mazal Tov JCC. She was inspired to write the play because of her involvement with a club for Jews with disabilities. “Despite my disability, I'd always dreamed of theater and acting,” Mariana told us. “I couldn't access the theater in a wheelchair, so I thought, 'Why not create my own?'”. At first, no one believed I'd succeed. But the power of my dream and our collective efforts proved them wrong. Though I still get nervous before each performance, I just can't stop: This is my passion.” Looking forward, Mariana wants to take the play to even more cities across Ukraine. “The play's main message is the importance of nurturing hope and mutual support, especially during challenging times," Mariana told us. “It's important to believe in the best and come out into the light. We want to give people the hope that, even when it's so dark you think you won't make it, a ray of light will always appear!”

For Yulia Yugenshtein, Jewish life has no age limit. As head of the teen club at the JDC-supported Shemesh Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, Yugenshtein leads Jewish programming for the country’s youngest generation. But through one innovative program, she serves its oldest generation, too. In our latest JDC Voices Blog post, Yugenshtein walks us through her Jewish journey, her work as head of her local teen club, and what inspires her commitment to intergenerational Jewish life. Read the full reflection: https://bit.ly/3W5XGuw