The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, often known as The Fellowship, has provided emergency funding of $400,000 to assist World ORT’s network of 17 schools in the FSU region cope with students’ basic needs in the face of continued underfunding of the Heftsiba system.

The money is earmarked for essential needs, such as school buses and hot lunches – critical services for schools serving Jewish communities scattered across large urban sprawls and teaching a curriculum that demands long days – and security.

Established more than twenty years ago, Heftsiba has been the conduit through which the State of Israel has supported the education of Jewish children attending ORT, Or Avner and Shema Israel schools in the FSU. The system provides management, quality control and instructional support along with Israeli teachers who are expert in Hebrew and Jewish education.