Portlander’s volunteer work in Israel now aiding Haitians

By LYNNE HAMILTON

article created on: 2010-02-02T00:00:00

The last three weeks of October 2009 I spent with Volunteers for Israel on an army base near Tel Aviv that serves as a medical supply base for all of Israel, not just the military, and includes supplies sent to help other countries during an emergency. Supplies from the base were sent to Haiti after the earthquake.

My work there was sorting medical supplies by expiration date, discarding expired adhesive tape and packing the good ones into small boxes. It was easy, indoor work, in a warehouse with fans and some air conditioning, which was fortunate because Israel had a heat wave and daytime temperatures were in the 90s and over 100.

October is considered the beginning of winter according to travel and packing information provided by VFI. Bring long johns. Hmmmm. Well, this was my second time with VFI. My first was in October 1991 near Beersheva in the northern Negev. That time my group painted—everything from barrack room doors to trash cans, replacing the paint sand-blasted off by desert winds. It was in the 90s then, so I reasoned most of Israel would not be very cold, and it certainly wasn’t. Hot, blue skies, dry, beautiful!

VFI (Sar-El in Israel) was started by General Davidi in 1982. Our group was fortunate to meet Gen. Davidi when he visited the base and spoke to us of his gratitude we were there. Gen. Davidi’s visit was one of several interesting talks, evening activities and field trips during my 3 week stay. Evening activities included get acquainted games, a talk by Zipporah Porath, with an opportunity to purchase her book (signed) “Letters from Jerusalem 1947-1948” based on her letters home to NYC, and a serious program about kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.

A VFI commitment can be one to three weeks and is not all work. The program includes unskilled work in nursing homes and hospitals and civilian work on military bases. Included are three meals a day in the mess hall, rooms with bunks sleeping four to six volunteers, and work clothes. Each group has at least one Israeli as a leader, or madricha. My group was rather large, about 40 volunteers, and we had two madrichot, women soldiers whose task it was to coordinate the volunteers’ work efforts, answer questions and provide activities.
   
Work varies from place to place. There’s always something to do, and age is no barrier to volunteering. Our youngest volunteers were college students and the oldest was 88. Medical care is available if necessary, though proof of insurance or ability to pay is required before VFI acceptance. (Medicare doesn’t cover folks out of the USA). Airfare is up to the volunteer, though El Al may provide a discount for VFI volunteers. And VFI/Sar El is worldwide. During my tour, I met Jews from the United States, Canada, South Africa, Bulgaria and the Netherlands; a Messianic Jew from the states by way of Germany; and a group of Christians from Finland.
   
We worked from Sunday to Thursday afternoon, then spent the weekend elsewhere. I spent the first weekend at a VFI dormitory in Jaffa. This was free, including meals, as long as we abided by strict rules and cleaned the rooms Sunday morning. The Mediterranean Sea was a few blocks away and I got to swim there. And of course there were all the shops and souks and general sightseeing. Then we all went to the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv (not my favorite place! Can you believe one has to pay to get into a bathroom there?) to be bussed back to the base for lunch and work.
   
The second weekend was spent in Jerusalem. One of the other volunteers and I shared a room in a small hotel (no elevator, but breakfast provided and a small discount allowed because we are with Sar-El) within about 10 blocks of the Old City and two blocks from Ben Yehuda Street. Lots of walking and stair climbing. We took a free walking tour of the old city on Shabbat. Shopped on Ben Yehuda Street after sundown. So crowded Friday afternoon and Saturday night, and empty during Shabbat. No buses either, of course, not in Jerusalem. Several of the volunteers were in the city and we met early Sunday morning to take a sherut back to the Central Bus Station in Tel Aviv, and back to the base for another week of work.
   
There were two field trips provided over the three weeks. One was to a winery (Tishbi) in the Mt. Carmel region (quite appropriate for an Oregonian) and beautiful Ramat Hanadiv Memorial Gardens where Baron Edmond Rothschild and his wife are entombed. The second trip was to the new Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv, followed by a tour of the oldest part of the city.
   
My last day was memorable. Hot and dry for three weeks, storm clouds were on the horizon and rain was predicted. Each morning after breakfast we always had flag raising—this morning was special, as it was the anniversary of the assassination of Yitzak Rabin. All the soldiers were there plus the “brass” if there is such in Israel--songs, poems, troops in silent formation, the flag at half-staff. As the program was ending, it started to rain. I thought of other losses: John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. The sky is weeping, I thought. Then as we hurried back to our rooms to change out of work fatigues and get ready to pack and leave the base, the sky opened up. Lightning, thunder! An old-fashioned thunderstorm poured rain down on us, cooling and cleansing the air.
   
My volunteer time is over. Many volunteers are staying over to sightsee, visit relatives even to be assigned for another tour. Everybody leaves this base, though, even the two madrichot, who are being assigned to other bases. I leave for home, thinking that three weeks is long enough for my two kitties to be alone even though my wonderful neighbors have been feeding them. I take the new train to Ben Gurion Airport, and as I wait for my flight, a rainbow appears out the terminal window. Shalom, Israel.
   
If you have the time and the airfare, VFI is a great way to visit Israel, make friends and do something worthwhile. There is a Web site, www.vfi-usa.org for more information, or call 866-380-6464. Portland’s regional representative is Kay Warren in Oakland, Calif. She volunteers too, and is a wealth of information. She can be contacted at san-francisco@vfi-usa.org.

Lynne Hamilton has lived in Portland since 1976. She is a retired federal employee.