The European Rabbinical Center inaugurated a free medical equipment lending center in Odessa, Ukraine, last week, with the plan to open dozens of more such centers across the continent.
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The charity was established in partnership with the European Jewish Association in response to the medical shortages and pressing needs in various Jewish communities due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"The lending of medical equipment in the format used in Israel does not exist in many European countries, and many members of the community simply can not afford to purchase the equipment," Director-General of ERC Rabbi Aryeh Goldberg said. "After a needs-based survey across the continent, we compiled a diverse list of equipment that will serve the members of the communities – free of charge."
Vice President of ERC Rabbi Yossi Bainhaker, said that each center would carry over 300 items, including oxygen generators, wheelchairs and blood pressure monitors, and would manage "a logistical system for the distribution and collection of the equipment and accessories to and in the homes of community members in need."
"By the end of 2021, 26 centers will be lending medical equipment in the following countries: Ukraine, Belarus, Bulgaria, Latvia, Romania, Poland, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Georgia and Montreux," he said.
Chairman of the Association of Holocaust Survivors in Odessa Schwartzman Roman Markowitz praised the move, calling the inaguration of the first center in Ukraine "an exciting milestone" and said that "Holocaust survivors were already given hot meals."
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