Olim Fund of the Galilee
December 2004 Report

Shalom and holiday greetings to our dear friends of the Olim Fund,

Greetings from the shore of the Sea of Galilee!

As we conclude the year 2004 we rejoice in the progress of our Fund, made possible by your continued faithfulness and outreach. December has been another extremely interesting and productive month. We have made the progress necessary to at long last implement our formal operations as an “Amutah” known officially as “the Olim fund of the Land of Israel (2004).” All of this will begin next month, after we have done several important growing steps which are now underway: a major revision of our web site that will be in place as of Jan. 15 (see www.olimpublications.com), the finalization of our new charter and a concurrent education of our Board of Advisors concerning the new mandated administrative workings of an Amutah, a meeting of our representatives early next month to educate them on our new status, revised paperwork, etc.

As if this were not enough, Olim Publications of North America is undergoing a major change with a move of its operations from Mt. Vernon, WA to a new entity in Sacramento, CA called “Olim Publications of California.” All North American activities formerly accomplished in Mt. Vernon will transition to Sacramento and be in place on or about Jan. 15th. As part of this change, we are also streamlining the Olim Fund’s contribution structure so that as of next month, all donations should flow to us through the tax free entity, “the Word of Life foundation” in Roswell, GA.

December has been another very good month for expansion of our income base. I am very excited to announce that we have just received a significant royalty payment representing my interest as the founder and Chairman of Olim Industries of North America  (Lafayette, CA) the importers and distributors of Awakening Mineral Therapy products. After a huge amount of work by co-founder Rob Hardwick, Awakening has finally awoken after the years of struggling and has turned profitable with very strong growth potential. All proceeds I receive from this will flow into the Fund. Awakening is a wonderful line of Dead Sea products that receives rave reviews from all who use its several products. Please check these out at

 http://www.e-awakening.com

Attached is our report for December 2004 representing the distributions we determined at our monthly meeting yesterday evening. While we have distributed a relatively smaller total so far this month, we have maintained a carryover to meet committed dental treatments that will need to be paid for in the near future.

The Board of Advisors joins Donna and myself in wishing each one of you and your families a wonderful and blessed 2005. You can be sure that the Lord God of Israel is true to His word and that you who are blessing Israel in such a wonderful way will be blessed in turn even well beyond your expectations.

God bless you all and thanks from the bottom of our hearts,

Bob Fischer

OLIM  FUND OF THE GALILEE

December 2004,  DISTRIBUTION

Family Size

Location

Monthly Income

Overview of Situation Funded

Gift

1

Haifa

$324

This single very new immigrant was diagnosed with a terminal illness soon after he arrived here in the Land. Unfortunately, his government support is not nearly enough to meet his medical and other requirements. On top of this, his apartment was recently burglarized during which he lost virtually everything he owned of value. This gift is to help him acquire medicine needed in his ongoing treatment.

 

$446

1

Tiberias

nil

This single man is between jobs and suffering from severe dental problems. All of his meager savings are going to support himself and his mother who lives with him. The Fund will pay for an evaluation at a local clinic with which we are associated and will, potentially, meet his most immediate dental needs.

 

To be determined

4

Maalot

$643

Both parents of two young children have been diagnosed with advanced hepatitis C and are in the process of applying for “invalid” government assistance, none of which has yet been received. They are physically unable to work and do not have enough money to meet even the basic survival needs of the family, including food.

 

$563

1

Haifa

nil

This single woman is in between part time jobs and is currently without income from any source. Her utilities have been turned off for non-payment, she is threatened with eviction and she has practically no money  for food.

 

$610

5

Haifa

$681

This large family with its head’s modest income is unable to meet an upcoming three month rental payment. His wife is training to be a hairdresser which has given them a sense of light at the end of a long tunnel of financial struggle towards independence.

 

$610

3

Haifa

$1291 (former)

This head of the family reports “I had a good work, I had a good salary, I had a good health---.” Now he is recovering from severe colon cancer, is unemployed, receiving no government benefits and has lost half his body weight. This is a one time gift to help them in their desperate situation.

 

$704

5

Haifa

$983

The head of this family is the pastor of a small Russian congregation. He has serious dental needs that he has no money to meet. We have referred him to a clinic in Haifa that will evaluate his needs which the Fund will potentially deal with in the near future.

 

To be determined

2

Haifa

$423

This divorced mother with a teenage son is struggling to survive on a small alimony payment. She has serious dental needs that will be evaluatd at a Haifa clinic for potential near term assistance from the Fund.

To be determined

3

Nahariya

Less than $300 from  part time

Both of these very young people with an 18 month old child are struggling to survive with  varying income from part time work. They are threatened with eviction, unable to pay for their bare survival needs and she is pregnant with their second child.

$704

1

Haifa

$366

This chronically ill divorcee has insufficient income to pay for her prescribed physiotherapy to relieve extreme back and muscular pain. This is a one time gift to help her with her current treatment needs.

$305

7

Nazareth Illit

$1174

The head of this very large family has insufficient income to deal with his own severe dental needs. He will be evaluated by our local dental clinic for possible assistance from the fund in the near future.

To be determined

1

Haifa

$481

This widow broke her arm and is temporarily unable to work. This gift will cover her rent and utilities for one month after which she will again be able to meet her own needs.

$352

2

Haifa

$528

This physically incapacitated mother of an IDF soldier is unable to work. Her government income is used mostly to repay long term debt, and her own son has a propensity to rob her of any cash he can lay his hands on. This gift will be managed by a local representative to buy her food over a three month period.

$469

3

Haifa

$610

This family from Ethiopia is struggling to survive on their two part time incomes. They receive no government benefits nor has she been granted citizenship due to her Christian faith. This is a one time gift to help them meet current survival needs.

 

$751

4

Haifa

$704

This single mother of three from Ethiopia is working at three part time jobs to meet the survival needs of her family. Even so, she is unable to meet current school and other immediate needs of her children. She is receiving financial counseling from a volunteer associated with the Fund.

$822

4

Acco

$751

This unemployed young widow with three children has recently had her utilities disconnected due to non-payment. This one time gift is intended to meet her immediate survival needs and to restore her to a point where she can manage on her current income.

$469

Total monthly distributions

$6,808

Copyright 2003 by Raymond Robert Fischer