From Ukraine to Poland, Celebrating the Strength of Women Volunteers

Yulia Furman fled her native Odesa for Poland at the start of the Ukraine crisis. With JDC’s help, she not only found the support needed to get back on her feet, she also found a renewed sense of purpose as a JDC volunteer. As we close out Global Volunteer Month, Furman describes the central role that women played — and continue to play — in her Jewish journey and why their volunteer efforts should always be acknowledged and celebrated.  

The women who inspire me most are those I’m closest to: the women in my family.

My childhood was filled with these women, and I remember the building where we all lived. I grew up near Odesa — with a more or less typical Soviet childhood. 

Maybe I’m being nostalgic, but it seems that everyone was different then, more open and sincere.

Everyone in our building knew each other well, and it just so happened that every family in our direct vicinity had Jewish roots. We’d pay each other visits and celebrate holidays together. 

We lived simply in everything we did, and my mother remembers with some regret that she couldn’t give me more. This was during perestroika — the period of reforms in the Soviet Union during the 1980s — when many people experienced financial difficulties. 

But I didn’t perceive those years as difficult. What troubles we had were more than outweighed by the strong community of people around us. Human relationships were our wealth. 

My most vivid memory of that time was the delicious food the women prepared. The people in our building came from all over the USSR and brought a diversity of culinary traditions. My grandparents, with whom I spent my childhood, had lived in Central Asia, and my babushka would cook some special dishes from that region. Gefilte fish, forshmak, tzimmes — all of these Jewish dishes were staples of my childhood home and today they’re still my favorites. 

Though it was difficult to be openly Jewish in the Soviet Union, I was lucky to be surrounded by these strong Jewish women. They gave me the strength to face any obstacle, no matter how large. 

And in the middle of the biggest obstacle of all — the nightmare all of us Jews are facing here in Ukraine today — I still feel these women guiding and protecting me. 

I will never forget that first morning, more than three years ago now. At 5:05 a.m., an explosion thundered out from the direction of the airport. I live close by and thought there’d been a gas explosion — the houses around me are old, and not everyone has replaced their heating systems. 

But ten minutes later, there was another explosion. And another. And another. 

I checked my phone. There were a ton of messages from family and friends. I immediately knew something very serious had begun. 

No one understood what was happening. Still, all I had to do was look out my window to see strange things unfolding. I live at the intersection of streets that lead to the Kyiv highway. After a few hours such an enormous traffic jam had formed — people were fleeing. 

The next day, I was in my apartment when I saw a missile strike a factory three streets away from me. Pretty soon, I decided to join the line of cars outside my window.

I went into the unknown. After I relocated to Poland, I also settled into a state of tension — checking the news, worrying about relatives in Ukraine, and doing my best to not go crazy from loneliness. 

I wouldn’t have to worry for long. I began to meet other Jews — I listened to their stories and told them mine. I started to embrace my Jewishness. And when I returned to Odesa, I knew I had to continue what I’d started in Poland.

I found my answer at the JDC-supported Beit Grand Jewish Community Center (JCC). I spoke with a coordinator who told me about volunteer opportunities, and since then, I have dedicated myself to lifting up my fellow Jews through numerous projects — the list feels endless.

Among other activities, I’ve organized Shabbat celebrations for the elderly, conducted arts and crafts workshops for children, staffed a day camp for at-risk youth, coordinated a club for women of all ages, and led Jewish seniors through memory games. If you can think of  a volunteer project, it probably exists — and that’s a testament to the dynamism and richness of my Odesa Jewish community. 

It’s also a testament to the efforts of women. 

From my childhood home in Odesa to the Beit Grand JCC today, the throughline of my Jewish story has been the leadership of the women whose shoulders I stand on. Though our work is sometimes underestimated and unrecognized, it’s our strengths — our ability to listen and support and guide and teach — that make the Jewish world go round.  

And it’s our efforts that will carry us into a brighter future.

Yulia Furman is a JDC volunteer in Odesa, Ukraine.

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