Nikoloz made Aliyah with his wife Sophio and son, Aleksandre.  He tells their story.

“I think the main reason for our leaving is poverty.  I was always busy and working as a distributor in different companies but was never paid enough!  All that I earned was used just for food and utilities at home.  We had just a little more for other needs.  My wife also worked but her job isn’t permanent.  She worked in a concert hall, organising scenery but if there was no event, she had no income for a month.  It’s hard to live like this when there is a little person in the family, so we started to think about Israel.”

“I think Israel is a promising country and my family has to try to start a new life and overcome having been so poor in Georgia.  And making Aliyah is important for our child also.  As we are young, we think we have the strength to start a new life and face the challenges.”

“You know, we have a positive approach to life.  We see, though, that our energy and strength that we spend here is not appreciated.  We know that our hard-working approach and patience can be useful not only for us, but also for Israel.  I am a professional driver and I think I can have success in Israel.  And my wife can show her knowledge at her job.  What’s most important is that our child can develop and receive one of the best educations in the world.”

“The hardest part in leaving is to say goodbye to family members and relatives.  There are tears on our faces!  It’s difficult to say goodbye to childhood friends and the land where you’ve been raised.  But I think hope has to overcome everything and we hope to see each other soon.”

“Everything Ezra has done for us was very helpful.  Our first contact was very fruitful and on the first days they helped us renew our documents.  Once we received our visa, we had to translate documents and have them certified by a Notary and with an Apostille.  Those are really helpful things that Ezra helps with.  We were due to fly out on 19 March this year, but this worldwide quarantine situation prevented that.  And then the hardest part began.  We no longer had our jobs and we couldn’t make Aliyah as planned.  We were stuck in that situation.  All our luggage was prepared and packed and we couldn’t move forward.  I was contacting the Ezra representative almost every week.  He encouraged us and that brought peace.  He gave accurate information about flights and basically just standing with us.  When we were finally able to leave, he brought us to the airport and helped with our luggage.  This was the first flight out of Georgia since the quarantine.”

“Everything was on time for us.  When we needed financial support, Ezra helped.  When we needed advice, Ezra did that!  When we were discouraged Ezra encouraged us.  I think your help was very important to our family.  I want to thank everyone who is supporting your work – it is a blessing for us!”