AVIV International Seminar
A personal view of the 2009 AVIV International Seminar in Tel Aviv by Nicky Miller AVIV UK Chairman Seven girls from the UK attended the AVIV Seminar in Tel Aviv in November 2009. Whilst many of us had only met once before the trip, we soon bonded and got on really well. We all had our own reasons for attending the Seminar. For me, I felt that to inspire others to fundraise and work for AVIV, I needed to experience the projects first hand. Our first day was tiring both physically and emotionally. We had arrived in Tel Aviv at 6am, having missed a night's sleep and by 9am were on a bus to the Neve project. Entering the building, it appeared like any other Israeli home - a warm atmosphere and a table overflowing with food. The difference between this and other homes, we soon learned, is that the parents are in fact foster parents who look after up to 10 children at a time. Many of these children have been taken away from abusive families. The kindness and dedication of these "parents" were immediately evident as they work tirelessly 24/7 to ensure that these children grow up in a warm loving environment where they are not only happy but are encouraged to succeed at school and in later life. Throughout the week we visited projects ranging from day care centres to music schools to boarding schools where we met incredible people doing amazing work. A particularly touching project is Ahuzat Yeladim, a boarding school for children who, as a result of their home life, have serious psychiatric problems. These are children who, but for WIZO, would have fallen by the way side and at worst may even have committed suicide. The teachers at this school seek to ensure that the children are happy, nurtured and go on to succeed in life and often even enter the army. Other than the projects, we also visited a naval ship in Haifa, the Palmach Museum and the Kotel, planted trees and had an emotional tour around Yad Vashem. We heard truly inspirational speakers from World WIZO, the IDF, the government and the private sector. We also took part in workshops discussing fundraising and membership. I feel that we all came away from the Seminar not only with a much greater insight into the work and achievements of WIZO but also having learnt much from the delegates from other Federations around the world. We also had a lot of fun!
