‘Tikva pulled me out of neglect and poverty and gave me a home’

A Ukrainian Jewish woman has spoken powerfully about the life-changing support provided to her by charity Tikva UK.

The charity was set up in 1994 to rescue and support vulnerable Jewish children in Ukraine and neighbouring regions of the former Soviet Union.

Recounting her life story for the first time in public to over 240 guests at Tikva’s annual fundraising dinner on Tuesday evening in central London, Katya, 29, said she owed the charity “everything”.

Listening to her story were community, business, and religious leaders of British Jewry, and supporters, including Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis KBE.

Born in Odesa in 1995, Katya lost her father when she was a young child, and her mother was an addict.

“Our home was a place of chaos and neglect,” she said. “There was heavy drinking, violence, and other men constantly in and out of the house. My mother disappeared for hours at a time, doing what she needed to survive. Sometimes, we wouldn’t see her for days. We lived in filth, a freezing, broken place, with no running water or electricity.”

(l-r) Joe Spiro, Karen Bodenstein, Ayalla Kruskal, the Duchess of York, Lauren Moshal, Anthony Moshal and Refael Kruskal (Photo: Blake Ezra Photography)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025 Not to be reproduced without written permission.

She said she and her sister, who did not have access to food some days, didn’t go to school because their mother never sent them. “We were invisible. I couldn’t read, I couldn’t write, I had no official documents. As far as the world was concerned, I didn’t exist.”

Katya was found in 2003 at eight years old by Tikva, which “came looking in the darkest of places” for children like her to help. She was placed in a Tikva home and there she stayed throughout her childhood.

“I could have easily ended up on the street, just another forgotten child in Odesa. But, instead, I found a family, I found love.”

In the home, “for the first time in my life, I felt safe. I had clean clothes, a warm bed and food every day. I was seen. I was loved.”

She caught up on years of missed education, went to university, and became financially independent. In 2017, she married a fellow Tikva graduate, and, together, they are raising two children who “will grow up in a home filled with books and bedtime stories. They will be held, cherished and safe. The cycle of violence, addiction and despair ends with us.”

Even after the war in Ukraine broke out in 2022, Tikva again supported Katya and her family to find safety and, ultimately, the chance to rebuild their lives in Israel. “Tikva provided everything we needed - food, shelter, security, comfort. We weren’t just looked after, we were protected like family because that’s what we are,” she said.

This journey from the desperate circumstances of her early life to one “full of promise, full of life, full of love” in Israel, she said, was thanks to Tikva. “My family exists because of Tikva, because of you. I ask you from the bottom of my heart to continue to support Tikva, so that more children, children just like I was, can be rescued, can be given a future, can be given a home,” she said, followed by a standing ovation.

(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025Not to be reproduced without written permission.@BlakeEzraPhoto info@blakeezraphotography.comThe Duchess of York (Photo: Blake Ezra Photography )

The annual dinner, titled “The Journey to Tomorrow” and which took place at the Nobu Hotel, raised £1.15 million which will go towards ensuring the charity can continue to support its communities in Romania, Odesa and Israel. Tikva’s search and rescue team in Odesa continues to bring in new children like Katya, who are affected by extreme poverty, neglect and abuse.

The charity has worked “tirelessly” since the war in Ukraine began to reach vulnerable children and young people in the war-torn country, providing them with shelter and care or, if they choose, evacuating them out of the country, first to Romania and then to Israel. Since the war began, Tikva has evacuated over 4,700 people from the country.

In Romania, Tikva cares for over 1,000 people, including 235 orphans, providing them with clothing, housing and food, and in Odesa, Tikva supports around 200 children and families. There are now over 1,000 Tikva alumni residing in Israel, where the charity continues to support them with safe housing, vocational training, education and a supportive network.

Skyla Spiro, daughter of Tikva’s dinner chair Arabella Spiro, who was unable to join for the evening, said the scale of the work is “huge”. But because of Tikva’s supporters, she said, the children in the charity’s care are “not just surviving, they’re thriving”.

In Israel, “there are stories of Tikva children going on to become musicians, medics, engineers, entrepreneurs, and the list goes on”, she said.

Leading the toast to His Majesty the King, the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, a longtime patron of Tikva, heaped praise on the charity’s continued work, and on the Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis, who was in attendance.

“It is a huge great honour for me to stand here on this stage to honour the Jewish faith globally,” she said. “And alongside you and all your work, Chief Rabbi, for the commonwealth, for this country, and for what you do globally, [which] is just extraordinary.”

She added: “I really think that the way we can all support the Jewish faith is by supporting you and your missions and what you need to achieve, and in my humble way, I can do it through Tikva,” she said. “It’s so important, because children are our future.”

Toasting the President of the State of Israel, Chief Rabbi Mirvis said Tikva “is a most extraordinary charity and most wonderful organisation that brings hope into the lives of hundreds of people who desperately need it”.

Comedian Yohay Sponder (Photo: Blake Ezra Photography)(C) Blake Ezra Photography 2025 Not to be reproduced without written permission.

Tikva UK CEO, Karen Bodenstein, said: “Tonight is not just a celebration of individual journeys, but a collective journey of an organisation over three decades. The journey has brought unprecedented challenges, especially in the last few years. At Tikva we work to overcome any challenges we face because we passionately believe that a child’s past should not dictate their future.”

Israeli standup comedian Yohay Sponder entertained attendees with a 20-minute set.