KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — Members of the Vancouver and Odessa Jewish communities connected via a live Web cast.
The Jewish Business Network in Vancouver, Wash., and Odessa Jews met via the World Wide Web on Sunday evening, the eve of Tu B’Shevat.
Vancouver participants learned about life in and the development of Odessa’s Jewish community.
Children from the Ohr Avner Chabad Day School and the Good Family orphanage were among the Odessa Jews on hand at the hall of the Central Synagogue of the Chabad Shomrey Shabbos JCC of Odessa.
The initiative stemmed from Rabbi Shmulik Greenberg of Chabad of Clark County, who once lived and studied in Odessa.
Each year, the Jewish Business Network does something special for the children of the Good Family Orphanage. This year, the proceeds of its fund-raising efforts will help with expensive medical procedures for the children there.
Ukraine’s economic crisis has given rise to a concomitant increase in the number of homeless children. Estimates of homeless children in Ukraine range from 100,000 to more than 3 million.
