The need

These impressive gardens and monuments were meticulously and painstakingly maintained by the local population just one generation ago. The decline in Jewish population since the Holocaust, and subsequent immigration have left few to care or to remember. Fewer local funerals have also led to diminishing income for the cemetery, whose restoration needs continue to compound. Experts estimate renewal needs at 378,000 man hours of clearing, trimming and building, in order to prevent future damage from roots and trees. This translates into 200 people working for a year, or less manpower over the course of several years.

Funds are urgently needed for basic work and upkeep that would help to unearth the hidden gem that lay beneath decades of shrubbery and decay, preventing its recurrence, and empowering the local community by restoring dignity to this revered site. This would also constitute a lasting investment in the local economy, in the form of new on-site skills training, equipment and job creation, while repurposing raw materials to provide reasonable, renewable energy to the community.