By COLlive reporter
The Jewish community in the United States has donated almost $500,000 worth of protective equipment to the Moldova Ministry of Health to help them in the battle against Covid-19.
Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe, lacked the resources to combat the growing cases of Covid.
Rabbi Zushe Abelsky, Chairman of the Moldovan Chabad Jewish Community, decided to answer the call by submitting a request to the Global Jewish Relief Network, a long-standing supporter of programs for the Jewish community in Moldova.
The protective equipment includes 199,2000 N95 masks, 72,000 surgical masks, and 61,000 protective gloves that will be distributed to employees of the institution.
On January 12, a ceremony was held at the Ministry of Health to show appreciation for this support. Attendees included State Secretary of the Ministry of Health Ion Prisacaru, Head of the National Center for Emergency Boris Golovin and Chabad Lubavitch representative Simcha Buzor.
“I am so grateful for this generous donation,” Golovin said. “It is an extraordinary gesture of solidarity with the Republic of Moldova in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. This aid weighs more than four tons – it is such a tremendous help. By the end of the week, all of these masks and gloves will be sent to our colleagues through the Republic.”
Rabbi Abelsky and Alex Galperin of the Jewish community in Moldova coordinated the delivery of the masks by working with Moldovan Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco.
“Chabad of Moldova understands that in addition to taking care of the Jewish community, it’s important to work with the government to help fight the virus throughout the entire country as well,” Rabbi Abelsky said.
He thanked the donors who donated the N95 masks and Joseph Cohen who donated the 3-ply masks, and the Sonance Foundation who partially sponsored the shipping costs.
