April Fools

April Fools!

Today, we visited three elderly women within Odessa. The JDC sponsors a home care program designed for elderly who are living alone who don’t have a lot of family and need help taking care of chores around the house from volunteers. We visited a woman named Flora who lives by herself in a two room apartment in Odessa. She was 61 years old and faced many medical problems including lung cancer and a recent cataract surgery. Some of us helped her paint the window panes, clean the windows in her house and plant a garden. Even though we didn’t spend a lot of time with her we felt fulfilled and thought we made a difference. Next, we visited a Jewish Daycare center. Children four years and younger come to the center to participate in different activities the center offers while receiving an informal Jewish education at the same time. We got to dance, play music, and draw with four or five children who we thought were completely adorable.

Sadly, we had to leave for lunch and spent the rest of the afternoon participating in the April Fools Parade!! We went back to the Migdal JCC to try on costumes centered around the theme of a Jewish Wedding. After receiving our costumes, we made a quick walk to the Museum of the History of Odessa Jews. Our tour guide was very charismatic and talked to us about Jewish life in Odessa from the 1600s to today. Afterwards, we were ready to make our debut in the April Fool’s Parade!! It was an honor to be able to be involved in a parade that involved so much preparation and so many people. We spent about an hour walking through the streets of Odessa in front of huge crowds, and we even made it on Ukranian television news in a short interview!! After a long but eventful afternoon, we headed back to the JCC and ate at a nearby Kosher restaurant where we reflected on our day. We are preparing to take a 2 hour drive tomorrow morning to visit elderly Jews residing outside of Odessa, and we are anxious to see what this experience will bring us and how it will compare to our previous volunteer experience!!

Rebecca Morris, Lauren McAloon & Lisa Easton