In just a few weeks, two brothers—twelve and ten years old—will shoulder their backpacks, walk through the gates of an Israeli school, and begin a school year unlike any they have ever known.
Only months earlier, they left everything familiar behind in Ukraine. Now, as the new school year approaches, they are preparing for their very first day in an Israeli classroom. Every lesson will be taught in a language they are only beginning to understand. Every conversation, every friendship, and every classroom routine will be new. Like so many children making Aliyah, they aren’t simply starting another school year—they are beginning an entirely new chapter of life.
That moment captures the heart of our project “From Exile to Israel”.
Helping Jewish families return to their homeland is only the beginning of the journey. The next chapter is helping children step confidently into a new country, a new school, and a future filled with hope.
For Avdey and Demyan, the months since arriving in Israel have been filled with both excitement and uncertainty. They miss the friends and relatives they left behind, yet little by little Israel is beginning to feel like home. They are learning Hebrew one word at a time, discovering the joy of the sea, and looking ahead to the day they will meet new classmates and begin building a future in the land their family now calls home.
For their parents, this first school year represents far more than an education. It is the beginning of the future they have prayed for—a future where their sons can learn, grow, build lasting friendships, and discover that they truly belong.
That hope is exactly what our “From Exile to Israel” Back-to-School Project is all about.
Every year, hundreds of children arrive in Israel carrying far more than suitcases. They carry uncertainty, questions, and the quiet hope that they will find their place. As the new school year approaches, something as simple as walking into class with a quality backpack, the right school supplies, and everything they need can make an enormous difference. It doesn’t erase the challenges of learning a new language or adapting to a new culture, but it allows a child to begin that journey with confidence and dignity.
This year, we want to equip 350 children from newly arrived families with everything they need for their first school year in Israel—a quality backpack, essential school supplies, and a cash voucher to help parents purchase additional educational necessities. For families rebuilding their lives from the ground up, this practical support lifts a significant burden during one of the most important milestones of their new beginning.
Scripture reminds us that God “sets the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:5–6). We see that truth reflected not only when families return home to Israel, but when a child discovers they are welcomed, supported, and not walking this journey alone. Sometimes God’s care is expressed through extraordinary miracles. Sometimes it comes through something as simple as a backpack waiting for a child on their very first day of school.
Would you help one more child begin again?
For a child starting school in a new country, a backpack is more than a backpack. It is confidence. It is dignity. It is the quiet reassurance that someone cares enough to help them begin well.
Your gift can make that first day possible.
- $50 – helps provide essential school supplies.
- $100 – helps provide a quality backpack and practical school essentials.
- $220 – fully equips one child with everything they need for their first school year in Israel.
Every gift becomes part of a child’s first day in Israel.
Together, we can help children like Avdey and Demyan—and hundreds of others just like them—walk into their new classroom prepared, confident, and reminded that they have not been forgotten.
Thank you for standing with these families as they rebuild their lives in Israel.
Together, we are doing far more than providing backpacks and school supplies. We are helping children walk into their very first classroom in Israel knowing they belong.
