Working in our center for the past three years has been extremly tough. In the begining we didn’t have money to buy computers, printers, furniture… how much more so to build a kitchen, shul, etc. Although we are lucky to be located in the center of town and rent two homes totaling 300 meters for very cheap ($1,000 monthly each home including utilities), nevertheless the place was almost unusable. We had no kitchen or dining room. Our bathroom was very delapidated and smelly. The hallways, offices, and classsrooms were in shambles.
One year ago, with the help of Hashem and kind donors, we managed to fully renovate the second floor of one home and turn it into a Shul and kosher store. We were so happy to finally have a shul and kosher store! Yet, life was still tough. For all kidushim, holidays, hebrew school and programs, we had no kitchen. Keep in mind, that this is Ulyanovsk; we do not have a kosher bakery or deli to order in outside food! We used our apartment kitchen to do the daily community cooking and we sent the food over by car!
In the middle of March, two Jewish businessmen came to our Shul to pray. They saw the terrible conditions and decided to help out by donating $10,000 towards renovations of a new kitchen. As Mr. Zaza put it, “I want that Jews should eat well”. Now that we had some funding to start renovations, I turned to local Jews to ask for their help. It soon became obvious that a kitchen is not enough. The bathroom smells, and we need a dining hall. Although Ulyanovk is a very poor city, we do have some Jewish businessmen. They might not be wealthy, but they all have kind Jewish hearts. We decided to totally renovate our center; installing a new kitchen, dining hall, 2 bathrooms, 2 classrooms, a library, hallways, electric, windows, beautiful light fixtures and more. The total cost is $40,000. It costs a lot more, but Mr. Dovidzhon is charging us cost price, in addition to donating $10,000 towards this project. Local Jews are working to collect an additional $10,000. That leaves me with 4 weeks to find an additional $10,000 so that we can finish before Rosh Hashona.
Donations can be made out to: Jewish Community of Ulyanovsk, and mailed to: 1371 44th Street Brooklyn, NY 11219.
