The 2012 Yom Ha’atzmaut Mission to Israel was a huge success. 41 Participants from Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane came together for a journey around Israel for 12 nights, 13 days. Here are a few excerpts from the daily blog.

Day 1 – and so it begins…

We arrived at the Amigour Sheltered Housing Program, a UIA sponsored initiative which provides low cost housing facilities for the elderly, many of whom have come from the Former Soviet Union or are Holocaust Survivors. We enjoyed an overview of the program as well as some personal stories of the residents. We were bought to tears of joy as we were entertained by the Choir who sang a variety of songs for us in Russian, Hebrew and Yiddish and we were particularly touched by one of the choir members who is 98 years old. This visit was a moving experience as we saw the pride and happiness that these people feel having been afforded the opportunity to live a life of dignity.

Kiryat Yearim, sitting atop the Judean Hills near Jerusalem, has a resident population of 140 youth and comprises of underachieving boys and girls aged 12-17. Kiryat Yearim employs a multi-pronged approach to the academic and social rehabilitation of children at risk through individually designed programs and intensive tutoring, therapeutic and psychological counselling and remedial education. This is done in order to bridge the gaps and help the children mainstream into general high school education.

Kiryat Yearim features programs that significantly enhance the education and enrichment activities so vital to the children they care for. Educational field trips provide the Village’s new immigrant and disadvantaged pupils with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of Israel and strengthen their Jewish identity. Enrichment classes such as kapoera, light athletics, soccer, ceramics, music lessons, choir, drama and art are a vital part of the extracurricular activities at Kiryat Yearim, adding to the social and emotional development of each child.

In the year which Keren Hayesod has named “The Year of The Volunteer” it’s incredible to see so many passionate and hard working volunteers who form the backbone of the UIA. It was also wonderful to see students helping out and some new faces.

UIA is always looking for volunteers to help us with our campaign activities and we welcome all to come on board.

A very special thank you to all of our special volunteers who assisted us over these days. Throughout the year, we will holding additional “mop ups” and we will require further assistance so if you able to help, please let the office know on 9272 5533.

Click here to view photos from the phoning days.

Also speaking was Leah Biteolin, an Ethiopian Oleh and UIA success story whose family walked 3 weeks to the Sudanese border and awaited a further 6 months in a refugee camp for UIA to bring them to Israel. Leah expressed her gratitude to the community for “helping this thing happen, for supporting Israel and for making a difference in my life, and in the lives of many others.” Guests were entertained by an Israeli theatrical performance group ‘Tziporela Ensemble’ and a special live performance by David Broza.  The evening broke the traditional mould with the inclusion of an informal lounge area with buffet style service which increased the presence of YoungUIA and Yachad donors.

Click here to view photos from this event.

The 2012 Women’s Division Campaign Opening Lunch was held on Tuesday 6th March with 560 women attending at the International of Brighton sponsored by Lexus of Brighton, Seacret Spa Products and Magnolia Silver Jewellery.

“Why am I proud of Israel?” was the theme of the event, and the title of a specially created video which featured the thoughts and feelings of Melbourne’s Jewish community about Israel. The footage, which was both uplifting and moving, set the tone for a positive and inspiring event.

The first guest speaker was Einat Weiss, Spokesperson and Director of Cultural Affairs, Embassy of Israel, Canberra. Einat presented an inspiring talk on Israel’s achievements and particularly why she is proud of Israel.

UIA Women’s Division continues to support UIA’s flagship project “Youth Futures.” The event’s second speaker was Liat Riff, Director of the Youth Futures Program in Jerusalem, which provides youth-at-risk with new opportunities through counselling and educational services.

A special thank you to all of our sponsors, donors and volunteers for their continued support of the UIA Women’s Division.
Click here to view the photos from the event.