The Caravan of Life - 2009

MDA: The next project – Belgium

Following the success of activities in France, MDA Director General Eli Bin has ordered the French Desk to expand its activities.  Within the framework of the preparations for activities, the French Desk approached the President of MDA Belgium, Ms. Pauline Szafarsz who was delighted to cooperate.

In recent days the activities have started in the field. The caravan of life was received in the Belgian Zionist youth camp and exposed MDA to 140 members of the Zionist movement.

The youngsters were surprised to see an Israeli ambulance with Israeli number plates “moving about” in their camp.  The activities in the Belgian camp started off with welcome rain.

Odaya, an instructor in the project says “it was 35 degrees outside and all the youngsters were in short sleeves when suddenly it began to rain and suddenly everyone got up in a panic as if there was a “red alert” siren and ran to the big hall nearby”.

Of course some of the Israeli instructors who are not used to this sort of situation, stayed back a bit and that caused them to become soaking wet from the hail and lightening storm that occurred.

Line Azulai, a volunteer from the Desk in Lyon, portrays the training as a Zionist experience both for the campers and for the team of instructors, an unforgettable experience.  Two Belgian instructors took part in the Caravan of Life , a fact which contributed greatly to the success of the activities of the Belgian youngsters.  Margalit, an instructor in the project and who lives in Brussels says that they were very well received in the camp and an additional bonus was that she met a lot of friends there.

A few days later in the MDA Jerusalem station, a group of 50 additional youngsters from Belgium came for a tour to get to know Magen David Adom.  The tour included instruction on MDA the importance of first aid, a tour of the Dispatching Centre and of a Mobile Intensive Care Unit.  The students were surprised to find out that MDA is not only active in terrorist attacks but also plays a part in routine Israeli life.

After the activities tens of the youngsters asked to be able to take part in MDA activities in their own country, which greatly pleased those involved in the Belgian Society.  In 2010 the French Desk plans on increasing its activities and cooperation with Magen David Adom in Belgium.

Dr. Lazare Kaplan, President of MDA France praised the expansion of the activities of the Desk and says that cooperation between two adjoining countries can only be of great value to Magen David Adom.

By the end of their first week in France, MDA volunteers tell us about their adventures.

We reached Marseille on July 7. From there we drove the Caravan of Life - 2009, our precious ambulance to meet Jewish Youth Movements.
The first camp - Bnei Akiva - greeted us with a warm welcome. The children were very impressed by the sight of an Israeli ambulance on their grounds.

Later we drove to the Rhones Alpes region, Lyon - Villeurbanne - where we presented our lifesaving activities to our very enthusiastic public.

The members of our team: 4 MDA volunteers . Yehuda (in charge!) and Odeya who came from Israel, Margalit and Line who joined us on Saturday night, to take part in our venture. Line graduated the Yochai Porat Overseas Program. MDA French Desk greatly appreciate the support of local volunteers, their presence strengthens the ties between Israel and the Diaspora and appeals to youth volunteering at Magen David Adom,.

The press a t local and community levels published articles about the visit of the caravan and its activities; Yehuda and Line have been interviewed by the Jewish Radio and largely expressed the vital need of MDA in Israel.

On Sunday, we trained two camps in the Toulouse area and on Monday 200 children participated in the activities of the Maison Moadon in Paris. The Maccabiah started at this time in the Maison Moadon and the organisers granted the top slot to the First Aid & Resuscitation Activity (it seems that practicing MDA is like practicing a sport....)

Today we are visiting our first Belgian Youth Camp. There are no borders to First Aid & Resuscitation training. This is the French Desk first contact with Belgian communities and we look forward to emphasizing our ties in the near future.

More will follow in our next report...

The Caravan of Life - Week One

After a week of activities, the volunteers of the French Desk report of high performance levels.

A week ago, the Caraven of Life began it's route of activities among summer camps in France.

The delegation then continued to Lyon, where they began the increased activities planned by the French Desk (Lyon is the second largest city in France). On Saturday evening the group was joined by Lynn, an MDA volunteer from Lyon, a graduate of the Yochai Porat program. Currently the group includes Yehuda (the head of the delegation), Odayah who came from Israel, and the locals Margalit and Lynn. The French Desk sees great importance in combining local volunteers in it's activities, strengthening the ties between Israel and the Diaspora and motivating local youth to volunteer at MDA.

Local and community newspapers have published articles on our activities, and on Jewish radio Yehuda and Lynn sent clear messages on the significance of MDA in saving lives. 

On Sunday, the delegation held activities at two summer camps near Toulouse. On Monday they held activities at a large camp (200 campers) through the Moadon Maison Community Center in Paris.

The activities at the camp were a part of the Maccabiya which opened at the camp, and of all the activities they chose First Aid as the leading activity (it seems MDA is a sport, as well...)

Today the delegation began activities at the Belgian Zionist Youth Camp.
 This is the first stage of the French Desk's activities in the Jewish Belgian community, activities that, with gods help, will grow and flourish.

Further reports forthcoming,