Dear Friends, 

This September I will be embarking on a two week service trip to my hometown of Odessa, Ukraine.  

As some of you may know, I was born in Odessa and my family emigrated to the United States  when I was only a year old.  Upon arrival we were granted refugee status due to the harsh realities we were fleeing -- intense antisemitism, oppression, poverty, and abuse -- all because we were Jewish.  

My family left with such intense fear and a sense of betrayal to their homeland. Returning back, or even visiting, would just not be possible.  Due to the painful realities of our past, my family has vowed to never return. Since my dedushka's (grandpa's) passing in 2012, I've felt a deep calling to return to the place that has shaped so much of who I am -- being Jewish, Ukrainian, and fiercely committed to social justice -- and within the context of learning more and giving back to the Jewish community.   

This September I'm choosing to work towards healing and re-connection of my community, Jewish identity, and homeland.  I'll be participating in a 10-day service trip to Kyiv and Odessa, Ukraine with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee  to connect with and serve the marginalized Jewish communities that never left. I grew up feeling ashamed of my Jewish heritage and now want to embrace it to its capacity. 

I'm looking to raise funds to cover my program and associated costs, as well as to raise money for an Ukrainian LGBT organization. Over the next two weeks I'm going to be connecting with two different organizations working with LGBT young people in Ukraine. Ukraine remains to be a place where being gay is often not accepted or safe. Choosing to support an organization of this kind is in great alignment for me and I'm deeply grateful for you (my community) in supporting me in this way.

It's especially powerful that I'll be making this contribution with the support of my community.  Thank you for any level of support you can provide to me as I embark on this journey. I am deeply grateful.

With love,
Luba 

Click here to learn more to learn about Ukraine's Jewish community and JDC's work in the country.

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Some family photos from Ukraine: 

My babushka (grandma) Larisa, great uncle Valik, and great grandmother Klava in Uzbekistan.  My grandmother and her family (along with many other Jews) had to flee Odessa during the war. 

My great grandfather Yehokaim.  Yehokaim was kidnapped and murdered in 1953 by the Soviet regime for producing a Yiddish newspaper in Odessa. 

My late  dedushka Senya at the grave of his parents at the Jewish cemetary outside of Odessa. 

My mom in the late 1960s in downtown Odessa.

My babushka Larisa, mom, and great grandma Lyuba (who I was named after).  Lyuba was one of only a few survivors from her community when her community was destroyed and family murdered during a program in 1917.  

My babushka picking mushrooms in the 1960s outside of Odessa.