“Many of them didn’t see their families for more than a year. It’s very difficult,” she said. “The war is not ending and they want the children to stay here. They are in a safe place.”
So this summer they started a new project to reconnect the families. They paid for mothers, sisters, and grandmothers to travel from Ukraine to Israel to visit the children and teens for several weeks.
“More than a year for a child not to see his parents is very hard, even if he’s not living with them,” she said.
They arranged for the flights, set up apartments where they can stay together, and they are helping them with food and spending money.
The Bukiets are drastically changing the lives of these children and teens.
“In every child we saw an improvement. Some are now independent, receiving an education, working successfully,” Malki said.
The Bukiets receive monthly support from Israel365 to help care for these orphans.