Born Into War, Odessa Children Start a New Year of School
Among the 127 orphans attending Odessa’s Chabad Ohr Avner school are youngsters who have never known life without war. Rabbi Avraham and Chaya Wolff say the new school year is a victory.
by COLlive Reporter · COLliveBy COLlive reporter
For some of the children beginning the new school year at the Ohr Avner Chabad Jewish school in Odessa, Ukraine, there has never been a single day of life without war.
Among the 127 children from the Mishpacha orphanage who attend the school are youngsters born shortly before the war began, children whose earliest memories have been shaped by air raid sirens, bomb shelters and the fear that has become part of daily life in Ukraine.
But as the new school year opened, for one moment, the fear gave way to something else.
Instead of rushing to a shelter, the children arrived with new schoolbags on their backs. Instead of the sounds of explosions, there were songs, dancing and smiles as the school marked its traditional first-day celebration.
“Who would have believed that the war would continue for so many years,” members of the educational staff said. “But life is stronger than everything, and these children are the most beautiful proof of that.”
Rebbetzin Chaya Wolff, who runs the Mishpacha orphanage together with her husband, Rabbi Avraham Wolff, Chief Rabbi of Odessa and Southern Ukraine, said the occasion carried particular emotional weight.
“These are children who grew up in a reality that no child in the world should have to know,” she said. “And this week, despite everything, they took a tremendous step forward, toward their future, toward life.”
The children gathered beneath a large sign declaring, “We are all one family,” singing, dancing and embracing the educators whom they call “Abba” and “Ima.”
For the children and the Chabad staff caring for them, the opening of another school year was more than an annual milestone. It was a declaration that Jewish life and education in Odessa are continuing despite the war surrounding them.
“Every child who enters first grade today is a victory of life over those who are trying to extinguish our light and our hope,” Rabbi Wolff said.
“We are here to make sure these children receive what every child in the world deserves: education, security and, above all, a childhood, joy, laughter, hope and faith that tomorrow will be a better day.”
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