Eskadar was 20-years-old when she made aliyah. She later married and had four children but the marriage failed and she was left with enormous debts. Her salary as a contract cleaner nowhere near sufficed, and when the Bailiff Court threatened to confiscate anything she owned of value, she felt there was no way out of her desperate situation. FPF came to her assistance – they paid off part of her debt to alleviate her financial worries and they provided a support network to ensure her children were cared for and well fed. 

FPF’s lifeline was what Eskadar needed to turn her life around. She didn’t want to depend on handouts, and with FPF’s support she secured a second job and sat her children down and explained that they needed to help take care of each other. Today Eskadar has paid off all her debts and feels she is setting a really positive example to her kids. Eskadar’s daughter Li’el was able to experience her very own Bat Mitzvah celebration thanks to the fundraising efforts of a UK Bat Mitzvah girl who ‘twinned’ with Li’el through Myisrael. Eskadar could never have imagined that one of her children would have their own Bat Mitzvah party – it was a magical day for Eskadar’s whole family. 

WHY CHOOSE FPF?

Since their arrival in the country in the 1980’s and 90’s, life has been far from easy for Israel’s Ethiopian community. For the older generation, who were never taught to read or write, learning Hebrew proved an enormous challenge. And most of the teenagers arrived with no secondary school education and quickly dropped out of the Israeli school system. The community struggled to adjust to their new life and find ways to make ends meet. 

Today, FPF is a lifeline for this community, providing financial and practical support as well as putting a huge emphasis on education. They supply aspiring students with computers to facilitate their studies, and they offer scholarships to assist those who wish to study for a professional qualification or advanced degree, giving them the best possible chance of a successful career. FPF also offer a Rapid Response Team which provides emergency support to members of the community with critical needs such as lack of food, housing repairs or utility cut-offs. The Team ensure that these families have a safe, warm, and healthy environment to live in. With FPF’s support, Netanya’s Ethiopian population is being transformed into a thriving and successful community.