Myriam's Dream - Newsletter

We focus this issue of our Newsletter on current grants given for programs in Israel, where our aid meets some of the enormous need created by the dramatic down-turn of tourism and accompanying problems. Our Fall Newsletter will feature Latvia, L’Vov, Ukraine, the former Soviet Union, Capetown South Africa, and the United States.

Many of us were personally inspired by Myriam.
All of us were inspired by the fruits of her “doing.”

Myriam's Dream photo Myriam Mendilow’s dream was more than a dream. Her dream was her unshakable determination to restore dignity, hope, meaning, usefulness and participation to elderly and handicapped people whom society had rejected; and by so doing to enrich the society that had deprived itself and the elderly from the mutual benefits of partnership.

Myriam Mendilow, a teacher of French in the schools of Jerusalem, was appalled by the sight of elderly beggars in the streets of her city. She was angered by the disregard of the elderly, both by her students, and by the young. Further, she was saddened beyond words by the plight of the unemployed handicapped. And so, she started in 1962 by squatting in some decrepit rooms in an abandoned and neglected courtyard, virtually under the guns of the Jordanian troops stationed on the Walls of the Old City opposite her.

Applying what was to be her life-long motto, “TO BE IS TO DO,” Myriam left her well-paid job as a teacher of French, and devoted her life to doing her dream. After her death in 1989, a nationwide core of volunteers and Beged Kefet members founded Myriam’s Dream, Inc., a not-for-profit ALL-VOLUNTEER corporation.

To continue Myriam’s Dream, to continue our support of the elderly poor, to continue projects world-wide which reflect Myriam’s dream and values, we need your help.

Please join with us.

TO GET CONNECTED
- or -
FOR MORE INFORMATION, WRITE:
Linda Kantor
52 Wellington Drive, Orange CT 06477
Email: LSKANTOR@snet.net

CLICK - HODHASHARON
Community Leadership & Intervention of Crisis for Kids & Elderly

Photo of woman painting Set in a community of only 28,000 people, northeast of Tel Aviv, CLICK is a virtual hotbed of activities for seniors and children at risk. CLICK includes day care centers for both seniors and children, handicrafts, exercise classes, medical/health supervision, community theater and MANY intergenerational activities.

A recently added feature called “Supportive Community” is aimed to meet the needs of seniors who wish to remain in their own homes. Sometimes referred to as support “without walls,” this service provides 24-hour security support, home maintenance, help with household chores and advice/information services.

Theater productions are not the only way that elders are helped to recapture the past. For example, some months ago, 20 incapacitated elderly, most of them immigrants from Iraq, together with their caregivers, visited the Baghdad Historical Museum in a nearby town. One of the seniors had escaped from the Iraqi army in 1949, had made his way to Iran, and from there, to Israel! More than half a century later, on the visit to the Museum, he suddenly recognized his former home in one of the pictures in the exhibition. Emotionally, he cried out, “I didn’t even know there was a museum here!”

BEIT FRANKFORTER -JERUSALEM

Located in the Bacca area on the road to Bethlehem, one of the old and beautiful neighborhoods of Jerusalem, Beit Frankforter provides employment for elderly in a “home from home” environment, including crafts and other handiwork which are sold in the gift shop. Vital services are provided: a dental clinic, hot meals, a memory enhancement program, psychiatric services for the frail elderly, and Israeli soldiers volunteering to do home repairs during their off-duty time.

MYRIAM’S DREAM has helped pay the salaries of “two new, wonderful handwork instructors who have brought bright and innovative ideas to the workshops. The doll-making sewers and knitters have a wonderful time and have produced some beautiful work.”

EILIAT CHILDREN'S FUND - EILAT

Despite the difficult economic situation in Eilat, caused by the drastic drop in tourism and a simultaneous influx of Argentinian immigrants, we learn that three projects of the Eilat Children’s Fund, that Myriam’s Dream helps to support are doing well:

A new and vitally important winter program has been added at the “Moadon Yealim” to the usual activities of handicrafts, celebrations and learning the traditions of the new immigrants. Now, during the winter months — when it’s cold even in Eilat and most have no heating — the project serves a hot meal daily, from Sunday through Thursday. The Moadon provides vegetables and occasionally some chicken; the elderly take turns cooking soup. “That, together with good bread gives them a nice hot lunch before returning home.”

The Ethiopian Moadon continues its “Little Wonders” work with Ethiopian grandmothers who often baby-sit for the working mothers of the grandchildren — initiating the grandmothers into modern Israeli concepts of exercise, nutrition, and parenting skills.

MATE YEHUDA

Vegetable Gardening at Mate Yehuda Funded by Myriam’s Dream, a verdant “enabling garden” was constructed on a barren hillside, where seniors and young people can garden together, in a carefully tended greenhouse or on raised (wheelchair accessible) flowerbeds on tables. The elders grow herbs from their former lands as well as multi-colored flowering plants. An active intergenerational program at the Even-Ha-Ezer Center for the Elderly in the Mate Yehuda region near Beit Shemesh encourages the elder gardeners to cook traditional meals for the teenagers from the “supplies” of these gardens.

A new plan – to grow biblical plants in the enabling garden — is being implemented, also as a joint senior/youth activity. But seniors and young people will not only do the gardening part of this project. Along with the physical “labor” will be discussions about biblical vegetation, regarding both the use of such vegetables and references to their use in general and biblical literature.

Other activities in which old and young join are table games, birthday and holiday celebrations, outings to Jerusalem, as well as ceramics, silk painting, candle making, weaving and baking.

SHILO,THE ASSOCIATION FOR PROVIDING
SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY - HAIFA

At SHILO more than 350 volunteers are in contact with over 8,000 people every month, assessing needs, and providing assistance. Haifa’s population includes 52,000 elderly, representing about 20% of the total population of Israel. Rising steeply, many feet above the Mediterranean, Haifa’s topography itself is a challenge for many, as is the ethnic diversity of the population. This did not prevent members of one of Shilo’s Day Care Centers for the blind elderly from being present one cold Chanuka, where they were creating beautiful multi-colored throws, pillows and hooked rugs.

We were intrigued to learn about a new occupational project which matches the skills of a new immigrant, e.g. as a plumber or electrician, with a service need of a community member speaking the same language.The worker earns a small supplement to his social security pension and the customer pays what he or she is able.

YAAKOV MAIMON VOLUNTEERS �JERUSALEM

Joel Dorkam, of Yaakov Maimon Volunteers asks us to imagine 32 elderly Russian immigrants, aged 60 - 80, forming a chorus that “concertizes” throughout Israel, singing in Hebrew, Russian and English. Elders organize classes to learn conversational Hebrew to help them navigate their lives in their new home; to learn about and celebrate the Jewish holidays; to take trips to historic sites in Israel; and to draw, paint, and help one another.

“Let there be no doubt,” he concludes, “all this is actual reality. MYRIAM’S DREAM has made it possible to make life for almost 200 elderly immigrants more productive and more livable, in spite of the tensions of daily life and the ‘tsores’ of old age.”

AMIT

AMIT photo Hundreds of poor and frail elderly in Jerusalem are helped by AMIT,another of Myriam’s Dream grantees. In AMIT’S “Shirsheret” program where 4th and 5th grade children visit with the elderly, we learned of one boy who discovered that his grandfather, with whom he previously almost never visited, was in an elderly club with which his class was matched. Through these class visits, and particularly through singing together, the bonds between child and grandfather grew strong. An AMIT volunteer writes of this pair, “They would sing together, one hand being held by the other, and the free hand holding the song sheet. At the final concert, three generations of the family were sitting next to each other. The grandfather’s last positive happy experience was the three-generation meeting with “Shirsheret.”

BEER SHEVA � AMCHA

Beer Sheva photo A Holocaust survivor who has never painted before is taught to paint a portrait of herself. Slowly, over a period of time, as she talks with the therapist and members of her portraiture group, and looking at a photo of herself as a young girl, she realizes that to paint herself as she is now, she’ll need to confront the past and the changes it has wrought in her. Gradually, as she is able to face that, she is able to paint a picture of herself. Through Holocaust survivor drawing painting, through talking about the painting with her artist/therapist and with others in her portraiture group, she recaptures a self and a past she had submerged and feared to recover.

Another survivor- member of the group, who had made her home into a “museum of the Holocaust,” hung with nothing but pictures of the death camps, begins to paint – not portraits, – but landscapes showing beautiful flowers and trees. She too, is recapturing a pre-Holocaust identity, allowing herself to shed some of her survivor guilt.

A refugee from Tunis, who has no photographs and little memory of his father, is encouraged to use his brother’s face as a substitute. He, who had also never painted before, makes great progress until he gets to the point where he must paint the eyes. He finds it impossible to do so. Gradually, as he talks with his therapist, and shares his feelings with the other members of his group, he remembers that his father died of an eye disease. T Beer Sheeva painting he knowledge freed him not only to complete the painting, but also to improve his relationship with his own son.

A grandmother paints portraits of her grandchildren. As she paints, and as the paint dries, she caresses the painting, saying it brings her closer to her grandchildren; she too begins to talk about her life as a child before the Holocaust.

GREGG'S LETTER

Dear Elders,

Myriam's Dream was that the elder's believed in themselves. We study about Myriam and her dream's. Myriams said that old people should work and find their way to be creative. Myriam's Dreams makes people feel that they are somebody. And that they are special.

Sincerely,
Gregg

DID YOU KNOW??

Myriam’s Dream Bookbindery in Atlantic City NJ mirrors Myriam’s very first enterprise. As Myriam once commented, “The young tear, the old repair.”

Last year volunteer seniors rebound more than 2500 books for schools, synagogues and individuals, including some large print dictionaries for elders with vision impairment.

After retiring from her own slipcover and drapery business of many years, one Volunteer, Ruth, adapted her talents and learned the new skill of bookbinding at Myriam’s Dream Bookbindery. She added the additional skill of printing titles on completed rebound books. Her fox terrier, “Gina” now volunteers together with Ruth and has become the adored mascot for the Bookbindery.

Visitors and groups are welcome at Myriam’s Dream Bookbindery. Call or write Adrienne Epstein to schedule a time:

Phone: (609) 345-3350 - Fax: (609) 345-7024

LETTER TO BEGED KEFET

Dear Members of Beged Kefet,

I just wanted to take the time and write you to tell you how much I enjoy your music. I first heard of your group through my synagogue choral director, He had our choir listen to your first CD, “The First Album,”so we could hear the song Hal ’luhu,the song we were to perform in concert later that year...

I borrowed that CD from our Cantor to practice with it,and played other songs on it cause I liked that one so much.I have fallen in love with your version of “Music Speaks Louder Than Words.”I play that song over and over,listening to the beautiful harmonies.I was thrilled when my high school choir performed it in concert in the Spring.

Anyway,just wanted to let you all know you have a huge fan out there. I hope to hear you live someday.Please keep up the beautiful work and promoting Jewish music!

Sincerely,

Michelle

BEGED KEFET has produced and sold thousands of copies of two recordings, available on CD. They are now working on Album #3, portions of which will be presented at their Spring evening concerts.

For Sales or Concert Dates, contact:
Cantor Ellen Dreskin
Hebrew Union College
One West 4th Street
New York City 10012
Tel: 212-674-5300

MYRIAM'S DREAM, INC. is a not-for-profit tax deductible organization founded by a national group of dedicated volunteers vitally interested in helping older people through work and programs in Israel and around the world. We were founded as and continue to be an ALL VOLUNTEER organization. There are no administrative, facilities, or staff costs.