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What’s on schedule this week?” a new recruit asks on an early Monday morning. She is too new to know we don’t have a precise schedule. Professional meetings, awareness events and the like are planned for but ultimately we try to be there for anyone in need. Doing what? Doing whatever is necessary to soothe the wounds of those who find themselves engulfed in life’s crises. To wipe the tears. To ease the pain.
Like the nine year old autistic child whose father just died of cancer. His mother is not functioning and he is currently living with his grandmother whose health does not permit her to continue caring for him. Such a sweet child who communicates fully with those around him. Sensitive, sociable, happy, smiley, likes music and animals, and, in short, he is suitable and needs a family framework. Ezer Mizion does not handle fostering but with its vast network, it can start the ball rolling and attempt to find him a home and avoid the government’s imminent threat of an institution.
What’s on schedule this week? MVA’s are not planned and when they happen, they wreak havoc with people’s lives. A minibus with yeshiva students turned over into a ditch Two of the more seriously injured passengers were on their way to Haifa’s Rambam Hospital in a helicopter. There are another 18 wounded in hospitals spread around the North.
In all the hospitals, the Ezer Mizion team were the contact people. They were the communication address between hospitals to update the staff on the condition of the wounded in each place and to confirm via the Ezer Mizion Medical Referral Division that they are receiving optimal care.
They arranged for the patients to be in contact with their families. Some of the injured are yeshiva students who live abroad, and they arranged video calls for them with their families.
Our team went to the accident site to search for the boys’ personal belongings and tefillin.
They arranged food and accommodations for family members who came to be with their injured loved ones.
They accompanied hospitals staff and the wounded for hours.
Ezer Mizion – “We’re there when it hurts” isn’t just a slogan; it’s the essence of our non-stop activity!
It’s 3:00 AM. One of the boys lost his glasses. His fright and anxiety were compounded by his inability to see. But not for long! Because as soon as he heard, David, a member of the Ezer Mizion team, immediately handed over his own glasses… “Will these do for the interim until we can get you your own?” he asked. The look on the boy’s face was all the answer David needed as he groped his way home.
And then there was the family in Yerushalayim It was a large family. Large enough that there was never enough time to finish all the tasks on the list. Each child had his needs and the parents did their best. Until the day one child was diagnosed with the disease people don’t like to mention. Homework. Shopping for new shoes. All routine became irrelevant. Every possible moment was spent at the hospital with their precious little one. And then they realized. Moving day! They were scheduled to move in a matter of days! And nothing – nothing – had been done. They had hours to accomplish what normally would have taken weeks. And no energy, physical or emotional, to even begin. They stood there helpless until the story was brought to the attention of Ezer Mizion. What they were unable to begin was completed in hours by a quickly assembled team who made sure every item was packed carefully and in an organized fashion. The more fragile items were driven over to the new home by some of the volunteers. The parents listened to the story in disbelief, tears of gratitude and blessings streaming down their faces.
What’s on schedule? Appointments with government officials, speaking engagements at other entities, awareness evenings to keep caretakers abreast of new developments and interspersed within it all, being available to ease the pain of those who are hurting.
