Bat Yam Volunteering!

Throughout Yearcourse, I have gotten really lucky with my volunteering placements. In Arad at the school and now in Bat Yam. Out of all of the choices that we were given before we got to Bat Yam, there was only one that  caught my eye. That would be Save a Child's Heart (SACH). An organization started by Israeli doctors that brings kids with fatal heart issues from all over the world to Israel and pays for them to stay here and have the surgeries that they need. After the surgeries, they live in a beautiful house in the city of Holon (right next to Bat Yam) until they are healed and ready to travel back. Most of the kids come from Africa but there are also children from China, Romania, Russia and many Arab countries.  My job as a volunteer, is to come for a few hours twice a week to play with their kids and brighten their days. What is better than that? Not only do I get to be part of this AMAZING organization, but I also get to have fun while doing it. The kids are amazing and so grateful to see us and hang out with us. We play outside, do puzzles and play cards. I am hoping that eventually I will be able to go visit the kids in the hospital as well as hanging out in the house. I have already been around to see a few kids go home because their surgeries were successful. Although I was sad to see them go because of the connection we had, I was so happy to know that they would be going to their hometowns healthy and happy.
Everyday has its own fun story and I am SO excited and grateful to be a part of an organization that is so incredible.

Fatma

Monika and Nema

Nema

Fatma

Yamarium

Sulha

On the one day of the week that I don't volunteer at Save a Child's Heart, I go to the local soup kitchen here in Bat Yam. It is called "Fat Meir's", named after the owner. This kitchen is unique because it is specifically for children. We make sandwiches for them to bring to school and provide lunch for them to eat once they get out of school. The owner, Meir is an absolute inspiration. He used to be a lawyer but about ten years ago, he suffered from a stroke that paralyzed one whole side of his body. After physical therapy he was able to move and talk again, but he wasn't the same so he decided to work at a shelter for homeless kids as a cook.  After a few years, he realized that helping kids was his passion so he opened Fat Meir's to help feed the hungry children of Bat Yam. He is such a nice man and everything he does is for these kids. He could have easily retired after his stroke but instead he is using it for the better. It's stories like these that really make me believe that everything happens for a reason. This was his fate.
At the soup kitchen, they feed us breakfast when we arrive and lunch before we leave. For example, today he made us omelets for breakfast and stir-fry for lunch YUM. We prepare and package hundreds of sandwiches every morning and then help prepare food for the kids that come to the kitchen to eat lunch.

I am so excited for my volunteering for the next few months. At both places, I really feel like I am making a difference and that makes me so happy!!!!