Grandma's army

  Life and death battles don’t figure only in wars. People all over the world are battling the COVID virus. Conversely, people battling a chronic disease are facing a life or death situation, against much greater odds. Since dialysis is a temporary solution, people suffering from kidney failure are faced with no other alternative but a kidney implant.   The kidney’s main task is to filter toxins and remove excess water from the bloodstream. Healthy people have four to five times the kidney capacity needed for this. Even with one remaining kidney, there is still plenty of spare function and one can live a perfectly normal life. An organisation called “Matnat Chaim” “The Gift of Life” was established in 2009 by Rabbi Yeshayahou Haver who himself was the recipient of a kidney donated by a friend. He was prompted from witnessing tragic situations - such as the death from kidney failure of a young 15 year old boy, whose older soldier brother was killed by terrorists. They w...

The armed forces are not the only forces in Israel. No less powerful are the forces of grass roots activities which have spread out across Israel in their thousands. This was brought home to me by my eleven-year old great-granddaughter who, together with her younger brother, prepares sandwiches once a week for the needy. The project all began approximately four months ago, when   a married couple Ravid and   Aya Strul from Hadera initiated a completely new concept. They loaded into their car a small children’s table, a chair, homemade wrapped sandwiches, and a placard with the words “a sandwich for   anyone in need – free”. The plan was to   look for a likely place in which to unload. They described the first time as thinking “you have an idea how it will start but have no idea how it will end”. Not only has it not ended but it grows from day to day. The Hadera volunteers now run a bigger stall two days a week always on the same days and tim...