Esther had thought about adopting a child on and off for many years. In the early 90’s, she began volunteering to help Bosnian refugees who had fled their war torn country. Part of her work involved providing labor support for refugee women. Seeing these women and their babies re-ignited her desire to adopt.
Esther soon learned, however, that foreign adoption is quite expensive. She borrowed what she could from family but knew that the process could devastate her financially.
Years earlier she had received a small business loan from Hebrew Free Loan. She remembered how smooth the process had been and felt certain Hebrew Free Loan was again the right place to turn. “I never felt that they were scrutinizing me the way a bank would,” she said. “They just wanted to know me as a person, to know what I wanted to do with the money, and that I had responsible cosigners.”
A year later she found herself in a courtroom in a small town in Siberia, bursting into joyful tears as the judge granted her the adoption of her wonderful three year old son, Artyom. Three of Esther’s four grandparents were Eastern European orphans, and adopting Artyom gave her the meaning she’d been searching for and brought her life full circle.
Esther’s adopted son is now 18 years old and about to graduate high school. She is extremely grateful to Hebrew Free Loan for making the adoption possible. “How in the world can I possibly thank each and every one of you enough for the life of my son, and for the loan that made it possible to bring him home? I will forever be grateful to all of you, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for your mitzvah! Thank you for the life of my son!”
