Ukrainian special-needs orphan finds safety in Israel
22-year-old Ukrainian orphan with special needs flees to Israel, is welcomed as the latest member of Ohr Torah Stone’s Darkaynu program.
Israel National News | May 19, 2022

Born with fetal alcohol syndrome, 22-year-old Risha Luzetsky has lived her entire life with developmental and physical disabilities.
Risha was also born into a life of poverty. Her mother, who already had several other children, died during the birth of Risha’s younger brother, and her father was also an alcoholic who couldn’t take care of the children. With no other family support network, Risha spent most of her life in a Chabad-run orphanage facility in Dnipro, Ukraine.

It was the Russian invasion of Ukraine which gave Risha the opportunity for a new start. Relating her story, Risha says that in the early weeks of the war she was told that she would be leaving the orphanage for a “safer place”, though she doesn’t recall being told where they were headed. It was only once she was onboard a flight, accompanied by three other girls and a rabbi from the orphanage, that she was excited to learn that their final destination was Israel.

For Elana Goldscheider, founder and director of Darkaynu, Risha has been warmly welcomed to Israel and was quickly embraced by the other students. “She’s been such a wonderful addition to the Darkaynu family. Everyone loves her and wants to be her friend. Her personal story and her desire to build a better life for herself inspires each one of us, and the truth is that as much as we are giving her, she is giving us so much more.”