Far From Home, Fighting for Her Twins

Celia's journey to Israel began with love. She met and married an Israeli man in Peru, and she left behind everything she knew (her country, her language, her family) to build a new life with him in Israel.

In March, nearly a year ago, she gave birth to twin girls, Odem and Bareket. They became her whole world.

But the home that should have been safe became a place of fear. Because of domestic violence, Celia made the hardest and bravest decision of her life: she took her daughters and fled. She left with nothing but the clothes they needed. She had no belongings and no safety net, only her determination to protect her girls.

Even after she escaped, her fight wasn't over. Her husband is now trying to have her expelled from Israel and wants to take the twins away from her.

Celia faced all of this alone. She doesn't speak Hebrew yet, and she has no family in Israel to turn to. As the wife of an Israeli, she had a work permit, but she is not yet a citizen.

Still, Celia didn't give up. Through the well baby clinic in her town, she found her way to our home for mothers. She arrived deeply traumatized, but she had carried her daughters through every step of it.

Since last September, Celia has been living in our home for mothers. The twins now have beds of their own, a double stroller, and the other things they need, so Celia can put her strength where it matters most: raising Odem and Bareket and fighting for their future together.

Celia's story is one of extraordinary courage. Far from home, without her language, without family, and against every obstacle, she chose her daughters' safety. Every day she keeps choosing it.