Jewish tradition teaches that there is something even better than charity...

Nearly a thousand years ago, the sage Maimonides wrote: "A loan is better than charity, for it enables one to help himself."

At the Israel Free Loan Association (IFLA) in Jerusalem, we have been bringing this ideal to reality since 1990. The IFLA has extended over $82 million in interest-free loans to more than 32,000 new immigrants and their families from the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Ethiopia, and to Israeli families in need.

The IFLA grants over 300 new loans every month, but the need is much greater. Our waiting list for new loans continues to grow.

In 2001 we received donor grants that allowed us to provide interest free loans to victims of terrorist activity. This includes help to family members of victims and Israelis living in highly dangerous areas of terrorist activity.

The IFLA helps many of the over 80,000 Jewish immigrants from Ethiopia to obtain permanent housing.Most of the immigrants from Ethiopia were immediately housed in "temporary" caravan sites which very soon became unsuitable for proper family life. The government offers these immigrant families generous assistance in purchasing an apartment of their own -- mortgages which cover 98% of the total cost. Yet, that extra 2% is often very difficult for the families to raise. This is exactly the interest-free loan which the IFLA provides.

For many new immigrants from Ethiopia, Russia and Eastern Europe, loans are needed to get acclimated in their new country. Purchasing an apartment, buying basic furniture and appliances, providing for health care and education, raising the funds for starting a small business -- all of these can place a tremendous burden on new immigrant families. Of course, they can always turn to commercial banks, private loan companies and even loan sharks, but these demand very high interest rates which cause undue suffering and drive the families into debt and despair.

The IFLA also helps the working poor - needy families, families with four or more children, single-parent families, and families with handicapped children. Children in these families are among the most underprivileged in Israel. Families with other emergency or special needs can also obtain a loan from the IFLA.

Another population helped by the IFLA are families with physically handicapped children living at home, whose special needs require special expenses. These include the purchase of wheelchairs (costing up to $5,000) and other equipment of all sorts to help mobility, learning, vision and hearing, as well as for renovating the family's living space to accommodate special equipment and to allow greater mobility. These loans enable the children to remain at home, rather than be placed in institutions.