Project "Partners on the Journey"
As an organization with 3,000 employees and approximately 34,000 volunteers, Magen David Adom (MDA) headquarters personnel are accustomed to receiving occasional notifications about employees and volunteers being injured and transported by ambulances.
About two weeks before October 7th, Gal Shohat, a division head in the National Volunteer Department, began assembling care packages for members of the MDA family who were hospitalized. These packages were intended for use during their stay in the hospital
The first packages included: a comfortable pillow, a soft fleece blanket, a branded toiletry bag containing a toothbrush, deodorant, and body soap. These basic items are crucial for the initial hours of hospitalization, even before the families could fully prepare. The packages were elegantly prepared, accompanied by a get-well-soon card.
On Thursday, October 5th, during the Sukkot holiday, Gal was informed about a volunteer MDA paramedic who had been severely injured during operational activities in Judea and Samaria. Gal shared:
“As soon as I learned about the injury, I decided, despite the holiday, to visit the hospital. I arrived at the Intensive Care Unit at Beilinson Hospital with the care package, soft drinks, and light refreshments. There, I met the volunteer's partner, parents, and siblings. The family, who does not live in Israel, had come directly from the airport to the hospital. They were hungry and thirsty, sitting outside the ICU in a state of alternating hope and despair.”
After witnessing the family's distress, Gal also arranged for home-cooked food to be brought to them, unwittingly taking on a new mission.
"On October 7, 2023," Gal recalls, "I, like many others, was called to work early in the morning. Like everyone else, I was overwhelmed by shock and confusion about what was unfolding. During the initial hours, I moved around in a daze, struggling to grasp the reality around me. But soon, as reports of murdered, abducted, injured, and fallen volunteers, employees, and their family members began to come in, I stepped up to manage the crisis."
Three days into the war, visits to the injured from the "Operation Swords of Iron" began. These visits ranged from intensive care units to hospitalization and rehabilitation wards. Daily and weekly phone calls created connections with the families of the abducted, the fallen, and the injured. From this, the "Partners on the Journey" project was born.
Unfortunately, as of October 7th, more injured casualties were added to the list, and the pre-prepared packages were quickly depleted, creating a need for additional purchases. The Director of the Training and Volunteers Division, Itamar Abramovich, recognized the importance of this initiative for staff and volunteers and allocated a dedicated budget for purchasing new and upgraded care packages. These packages were tailored to the needs of the injured, based on insights gathered during the visits.
The new kits include: a luxurious bathrobe, a bag filled with hygiene products, flip-flops, socks, T-shirts, and more. Another team member, Yael Bengio, joined the mission of visiting and maintaining communication with the volunteers and families. Together, Gal and Yael make regular visits, ensuring continuous support.
"In the first months of the war, we visited the injured hospitalized in various wards weekly: rehabilitation centers in Beit Loewenstein, Sheba, Hadassah, Soroka, and more. These frequent visits fostered personal connections with individuals we likely wouldn't have met otherwise."
Gal:
"What I saw, understood, and took upon myself since that first visit, two days before the war, stays with me every hour. Since that Thursday before the war broke out, I have accompanied dozens of injured individuals and their families, bereaved families—all part of the MDA family of employees and volunteers who fell and were murdered during Operation Swords of Iron. Special personal connections have formed with people I would never have met otherwise, and I am grateful for the opportunity to assist the MDA family. These connections will remain in my heart forever."
Additionally, two special donors have committed to donating and dedicating ambulances in memory of the MDA personnel who fell during Operation Swords of Iron. The Samaritan’s Purse organization, led by Rev. Franklin Graham, which also donated an MDA station in Kerem Shalom, and an anonymous donor together have contributed 35 ambulances in memory of MDA members.
So far, three ceremonies have been held, each unique and emotional. Gal, who continues daily support for the families, worked with them to collect photos and inscriptions for the ambulances' dedications.
Currently, Gal and Yael continue their visits and keep up the contact with MDA personnel and their families, hoping no new cases will be added. This initiative is unique and innovative within the organization. Providing personal attention to MDA personnel and their families strengthens them, and there are already signs of greater connection as family members join as volunteers in memory and commemoration of the fallen.
