January 15th, 2025 – Mara was a WWII Refugee who had to be evacuated in 1941 from Ukraine to Russia to escape the Nazis takeover of her city.

Those 4 years of war were extremely challenging. Mara, who was 7 years old at the time, barely survived the starvation during those years, and lost her sister who was not as lucky as her, who died due to the food deprivation and extremely harssh living conditions.

In spite of her difficult childhood, Mara loved life, loved cooking for her friends & family, she loved being a part of the Netanya survivor club and was very active there. She also took part in countless Shalom House gatherings, organized by Helping Hand Coalition. She will be greatly missed.

Time is running out… Like Mara, every few months we are parting ways with too many of our precious friends. Just in the last trimester, over a dozen survivors of the Holocaust have passed away, who were a part of the Helping Hand Coalition Global Forum and in the GAiN Sponsorship Program.

May her memory be a blessing!