By Smadar Shiffman | Project Leader, Volunteer
Dear Supporters and Friends,
As we look back at 2017, we can appreciate the growth of our volunteer-based operations. Our volunteers carried out 15,200 patient rides in 8150 trips and traveled over 656,000 miles (compared to 13,000 patient rides in about 6,400 trips over 528,000 miles in 2016). Our full 2017-year-in-review report is attached.
Thanks to your support, this quarter we funded 24 minibus trips that shuttled patients from Gaza to Jerusalem hospitals. We also continued to foster opportunities for communication between Palestinians and Israelis at a personal level, as the following examples illustrate.
In March, a group of volunteers paid a condolences visit to the family of a 48-year old patient from Jayyous, who passed away recently. Our volunteers drove the patient many times between the Eliyahu crossing and Tel-Hashomer hospital. A family member of the deceased patient thanked us warmly for our help and stated that, in addition to the assistance with transportation, our work was effective in bringing about significant attitude changes among the Palestinians. Once again, our volunteers realized the importance of establishing personal relationships with Palestinian families.
In April, on the holocaust memorial day, the Israeli online newspaper Ynet ran a story about our volunteer Azriel Danski. Azriel’s experience surviving the holocaust as a child has shaped his outlook on life and inspired him to be empathetic toward all human beings, including Palestinians on the other side of border crossings. Through his volunteer work with us Azriel established a strong connection with a 10 year old patient from Gaza and his father. The close friendship they developed continued to support the patient through his recovery process.
In October this year, we plan a bike-tour fundraiser in which participants will ride from Jenin to Jerusalem. The tour will pass through major cities in the west bank and will include visits with local Palestinians. Please help us spread the word (a flyer about the tour is attached to this letter).
Grateful for your help and support,
Yuval Roth and the Road To Recovery US volunteer team
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