Amid pandemic, World Jewish Relief vows to keep serving vulnerable

As the pandemic continues to sweep the world, a British Jewish humanitarian agency has vowed to keep serving elderly and vulnerable communities.

World Jewish Relief has closed its offices, with staff working remotely and all travel suspended in the wake of governmental social distancing guidelines.

The organisation supports refugees and impoverished Jewish communities and provides emergency relief and long-term recovery efforts during major disasters.

The humanitarian agency will continue to offer home visits from carers bearing medical and food supplies.

“Many of those we support in Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus and Georgia have underlying health conditions, live in chronic poverty and have limited access to healthcare services,” World Jewish Relief said in a statement on Thursday.

“Although levels of infection are currently relatively low in these countries, a wider outbreak could have severe consequences for this group of clients and the safety net provided by World Jewish Relief is more important than ever,” the statement read.

The agency said it is “working hard to ensure that we can continue to support those most vulnerable to the impact of this disaster and as a Jewish organisation to help respond where we are able.”