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After learning of father’s past as SS officer at age 18, Didi Henke of Germany visits Israel, later moves to Jewish state to dedicate her life to helping Holocaust survivors. Now, some 20 years later, she is honored by Social Affairs Ministry
David Regev, YNet News, January 31, 2010
"Suddenly, at the age of 18, my life was turned upside down. To learn, out of nowhere, that your father was a Nazi officer – it’s hard to describe the shock." The 67-year-old Didi Henke still finds it difficult to speak of the moment she learned that her father was a senior SS officer.
Following the earth-shattering discovery, Henke decided to move to Israel and dedicate her life to the State and the wellbeing of Holocaust survivors.
Henke learned of her father’s past by chance, during her studies at university in Germany. "In one of the courses we were asked to learn about the history of our cities," she recounted.
"I searched information sources in the university’s archives, and all of a sudden, I found out that my father was an SS officer, who, among other things, was in charge of energy in the city. I was shocked. It felt horrible. I went to talk to him, but both he and my mother refused to cooperate."
The fact that her father showed no remorse for his actions led Henke to cut ties with him: "I took him out of my heart and I decided to dedicate the rest of my life to Holocaust survivors, in hopes of rectifying what my father did."
Henke made her first visit to Israel in 1978. She fell in love with the country and returned to it 52 times. In 1987, when she retired, she decided to move to the Jewish state. At the time, her parents had already passed away, and her siblings, who remained true to their father’s Nazi upbringing, barely kept in touch.
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Judaism, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Yad Sarah on January 31, 2010 - ט"ז שבט תש"ע at 2:15 pm
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Press Release, Yad Sarah, August 6, 2009
The war was finally over. Now it was time to begin the daunting task of initiating or continuing rehabilitative services to the numerous injured soldiers and civilians. A team of Israeli experts in rehabilitation services was assembled and sent to the war-torn region. However, driving on the roads was prohibitive because of all the explosive devices that were still in place. A medical evacuation helicopter was commissioned to ferry the Israeli experts to the areas where they were needed to consult with the local health officials.
This scenario could have taken place in northern Israel after the Lebanon War in 2006 or in southern Israel after the Gaza war in 2009. But it didn’t. It took place in Angola in 2002 at the end of the lengthy and bloody civil war.The Angolan Civil War began in Angola after the end of the war for independence from Portugal in 1975. Formally brought to an end in 2002, an estimated 500,000 people were killed in the 27-year war. The war spawned an enormous humanitarian crisis involving large numbers of displaced and injured persons.
Faced with the overwhelming task of caring for the injured, the government of Angola wanted to know which organization in the world was the most experienced in providing rehabilitative services quickly and efficiently. The answer was Yad Sarah in Israel.
Yad Sarah is Israel’s leading humanitarian organization. Based in the capital city of Jerusalem, Yad Sarah was founded in 1976 and today has over 100 branches throughout Israel. It provides a broad spectrum of home care services for the disabled, elderly, infirm, and their families. With 6000 volunteers and an annual budget of approximately $23 million, Yad Sarah is able to save the State of Israel over $400 million annually in hospitalization and medical expenses. Yad Sarah is best known for its loans of medical and rehabilitative equipment along with guidance and exhibition centers which demonstrate the use of the most common devices. For its role in assisting the rehabilitation of injured in developing countries, Yad Sarah was accepted as an NGO at the Department of Public Information of the UN. It was also granted special consultative status to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Judaism, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Yad Sarah on August 6, 2009 - ט"ז אב תשס"ט at 4:58 am
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Arts and Crafts group at Yad Sarah provides crucial social and emotional support
Press Release, Yad Sarah, February 8, 2009
(Jerusalem, Israel) For some, it happened in a moment. For others, it progressed over a period of years. All were once active and productive citizens. Today, their deficits in motor and language skills interfere with their ability to function in society. So they all come to Yad Sarah several times per week for a comprehensive, holistic approach to rehabilitation therapy. Besides the standard clinical services such as occupational, physical, and speech therapy, there are additional programs to provide the crucial social and emotional supports. An integral part of this program is the Arts and Crafts workshop. Every Monday morning the participants get three hours of recreation, therapy, and socialization. But that’s not all they get. “Coming to Yad Sarah gives them joy and purpose in life,” says Devorah Zwick, a volunteer at the program.
The group consists of about 15 women with varying degrees of neurological disabilities, brought on by strokes, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or various other disorders. They all have difficulties with fine motor and communication skills. According to speech pathologist Elana Kravitz, who was trained in New York and immigrated to Israel, “Their weaknesses in communication skills may vary from mild difficulties with verbal recall and verbal synthesis to more severe dysarthrias, apraxias, and aphasias.” That is, many have difficulty, producing coherent and intelligible speech, though their cognitive skills are usually age appropriate. Though the women are also receiving clinical services from occupational and speech therapists, the arts and crafts program provides them with additional opportunities to improve visual motor coordination and fine motor skills in a recreational and social setting. The latter also provides significant emotional support and mental health benefits. According to Irit Nahaloni, Director of the Day Rehabilitation Center, “Their participation in community activities is important. Instead of staying home with minimal socialization, the women have become part of an active community. Their ability to produce something that is creative and useful improves their feelings of self-worth. Their participation in community activities helps them realize that they can still be productive and their social life isn’t over yet.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Health Sciences, Judaism, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Women's Health, Yad Sarah on February 8, 2009 - י"ד שבט תשס"ט at 10:49 am
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Yad Sarah volunteers bring hope to others and inspiration to themselves
Press Release, Yad Sarah, February 2, 2009
View video on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rObUl4KGXA
(Jerusalem, Israel – February 2, 2009) Take three young music students from Israel’s famed High School for Arts and Sciences. Combine them with seven elderly blind persons. Add one dedicated volunteer van driver. Warm gently, and you get a beautiful harmony that stimulates the senses and stirs the emotions. For Michal Drori, the modest young woman at Yad Sarah who created this recipe, it’s just another one of the many projects that she is involved with.
For the past six months, Michal Drori, a student of music therapy, has served as the music coordinator for the Department of Home and Community Services at Yad Sarah. One day she received a surprise phone call from her counterpart at the very selective High School of Arts and Sciences. Could Yad Sarah use volunteer musicians who want to perform community service? Michal grabbed the opportunity and got right to work. She thought of Esther, an elderly blind woman who was once a teacher of the blind, loves music, and has a piano in her home. But why stop there? Michal searched the Yad Sarah files and found a small social network of blind persons who enjoy music. A phone call to Esther, and yes, she would be happy to host the group in her home. All that was left was to find a driver who could bring the group together. Someone mentioned Meir Keller. Without hesitation, he volunteered for the job.
Meir Keller is an angel from Heaven on a mission. Every Tuesday afternoon, he drives to Yad Sarah after his regular work hours to pick up one of Yad Sarah’s customized vans. He then drives around Jerusalem during the crowded rush hour to pick up six elderly, blind individuals. When King David established the city of Jerusalem over 3000 years ago, handicap access wasn’t taken into consideration. Jerusalem is a city of hills, steps, and narrow, winding walkways. It is difficult to navigate for even the most experienced blind persons. So Meir has to compensate. For each individual that he picks up, he has to park the van, and patiently guide the person up and down the stairs, over the uneven pavement, and into the van. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Judaism, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Yad Sarah on February 2, 2009 - ח' שבט תשס"ט at 10:03 am
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Yad Sarah staff and volunteers struggle to reestablish normal routines
Press Release, Yad Sarah, January 21, 2009
It became a common occurrence. You hear the Red Alert warning siren announcing that a rocket has just been fired. You have fifteen seconds to run and seek shelter in a safer environment. If you can do that, then you’re one of the lucky ones. But what if you can’t? What if you’re too ill, or too old, or too young, or recuperating from surgery, or confined to a wheelchair, or injured? Then the routines of daily living that have been merely obstacles or challenges in the past have now become threatening, impossible, and intolerable. So what do you do? You call Yad Sarah. If you are unable to use a telephone, then you press the button on your emergency alarm system.
Yad Sarah is one of Israel’s largest non-profit social service agencies. Its primary focus is to provide mobility services and assistance with activities of daily living. So if it has become a challenge to move around the house, maintain personal hygiene and nutrition, or even to just go to sleep, then you call Yad Sarah. Their extensive network of service centers staffed mainly by dedicated volunteers, provides an assortment of assistive devices and supportive services. Those that need a customized wheelchair, or just a special pillow, or perhaps only a little experienced advice, are frequent callers to Yad Sarah. If they are unable to manipulate a telephone, then they can get an emergency communication system. A press of a button reaches a trained operator at the Jerusalem control center. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Yad Sarah on January 21, 2009 - כ"ה טבת תשס"ט at 5:59 am
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Press Release, Yad Sarah, January 14, 2009
(Jerusalem, Israel- January 14, 2009) Since the onset of the conflict in Gaza three weeks ago, the international media has been emphasizing the humanitarian challenges that have been developing in Gaza, but little is known about the needs of the million residents of southern Israel who have been under constant attack from the rocket barrages emanating from Gaza. As a result, there are widespread international efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the Arab residents in Gaza who are innocent victims of the conflict, but none for the innocent victims in Israel. Receiving little assistance from international relief organizations, Israelis realized that they must fend for themselves and band together to provide assistance for the beleaguered citizens of the South. Within days following the onset of the conflict, over 40 Israeli organizations united to form an umbrella group called All Together Now, to integrate humanitarian services for the civilian victims in southern Israel.
All Together Now, or Kulanu B’Yachad in Hebrew, is located in Jerusalem in offices provided by Yad Sarah, a large non-profit social service organization serving all of Israel. It is staffed for 18 hours per day, by about 25 dedicated volunteers. The center is closed Friday evening and Saturday for religious observance. The three coordinators, Avital Sela, Ashira Landau, and Naama Cohen are there for most of the time. Ms. Landau noted that most of the volunteers are young women who are doing their required national civil service but they are putting in time at the center in addition to their required time for national service. Students and senior citizens are also volunteering. When asked how many hours she puts in, Landau responded, “I’m here everyday from 7 am to 1 am, except Saturday”
All Together Now provides assistance in five general categories: housing, transportation, food, household items, and recreational activities for children. The volunteers receive calls from people needing assistance and people offering assistance. The coordinators collect the phone messages and then meet to match the providers with the recipients. If a needed service has not been offered then the coordinators will call suitable providers to obtain the needed services. In addition, almost 2000 volunteers have been sent to southern towns to assist with shelters that house about 30 people each, mostly children. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by CNP Webmaster as Judaism, Middle East Report, News Articles, Recent Posts, Yad Sarah on January 14, 2009 - י"ח טבת תשס"ט at 4:50 am
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