What is it about meeting people face-to-face that excites and moves us?
What was so special about hosting our inspiring Achotenu program graduate, Inbal Hanania, here with us in Melbourne and Sydney, along with the wonderful program director, Judy Lowy:
For me, it was a truly exciting 10 days. Being in a room together, hearing the story Inbal related, learning details never heard before, hearing additional aspects of the program from Judy, I felt we, in the audience, really understood the need and the impact of what we are doing, why it is something we identify with, how it fits with our values and mission. Spending time together, listening to someone who has successfully jumped immense personal hurdles and who not only loves her work as a paediatric nurse, but who happily mentors others, sees herself as a role model in her family and community, a young woman who has grabbed opportunities offered and feels she can spread her wings even further in her profession – this was an incredible privilege for me and all those who joined us in meetings and events.
It seems obvious that this personal touch is what we have missed in the past two years – now we might begin to enjoy more such inspiring visits for other Hadassah Australia projects. With our President, Ron Finkel AM, enjoying time in Israel with family and taking the opportunity to visit programs and people in our orbit, Ron’s enthusiasm and joy at being able to be in Israel, to visit Hadassah’s two campuses; to meet medicos and representatives of the hospital who have rotated to support the Ukraine Emergency Mission; to see the Gandel Rehabilitation Center progressing so wonderfully; to speak with Dr Esti Galili-Weisstub about the ongoing need for trauma treatment and training of psychotherapists; to talk further about our forthcoming second International Conference on Trauma and Mental Health; to be at Mt Scopus and visit the Goshen offices and learn about the amazing progress being made in early childhood development – and hear more about the need and the stories of why the Goshen training is so impactful for paediatricians and family physicians, how communities are benefitting from having holistic approaches to the young children…
The newsletter covers all these and more. I hope the newsletter inspires you, our supporters and loyal donors, to better understand why we love our work, why we continue to provide updates and ask you to share our enthusiasm.
Let’s hope that we can continue to hold on to our beautiful connection to Israel through visits to and from, enabling us to provide opportunities for individuals, families, communities and Israeli society as a whole with the means to improve civil society through health.
Ruth Rosen
Executive Director, Hadassah Australia