The intensity of equatorial midsummer heat that accompanied me into the hanger-turned-arrival terminal abated only when I again landed in Santo Domingo airport two weeks later. The lack of luggage trolleys is perfectly consistent with the lack of a pavement outside the terminal.  I momentarily feared that the sea of greeters, drivers and would-be day workers would forever obscure me from my waiting compatriots but the connection was made and we drove off towards town.

The perception of destruction I experienced in those first minutes was numbing. Later, I saw much beauty in many shades of color, hope, resilience, pride and self- efficacy, but along those first kilometers it was all rubble. Rubble not confined to the destroyed buildings on the sides of the “roads,” but the roads themselves and most things on it: the rows of huts and tents lined up as dwellings on the road divider; the throngs hanging in and off the sides of the pickup trucks-turned human-transporters and the tent cities themselves. There was one remaining green area in Port au Prince: that behind the fence surrounding the collapsed Presidential Palace. But every other patch of open space, the green that breathes life into London, New York and Jerusalem, is now a ground cloth to tarp-touching-tarp tent cities.

But soon I began to feel the life and the energies which characterize Haitians. Not only do people emerge from those tents every morning, cross the rubble and set off in a direction, they do so with an indescribable air of purpose, resolve and pride. The children are immaculately dressed in their school uniforms, the adults in clothing pristine as in Milan.

This is the spirit to which volunteer organizations must connect in order to contribute anything of value to Haitian recovery. Of the some 6000 not-for profits operating in Haiti today I fear too many come with their own agendas and their own perceptions of what Haiti needs.

I was sent as part of a Trauma Response and Community Development training team by The Israel Trauma Coalition and Natan: The Israeli Emergency Response Coalition. It was done with the backing of the AJJDC International Development Programs – the division of “the Joint” that supports non-sectarian disaster relief. The strength of the program lay in the fact that the organizers did not send us there with clear instructions on what to teach or even with whom to work. This emerged from the needs we heard from the students and professional we eventually worked with.  I believe that because of this approach we received the following kinds of feedback:

Now we know how to help ourselves, and after that how to help others.

I like the way the trainers encouraged us to participate at the seminar.  It was mostly dialog between us.

I know now when someone is traumatized, because someone can be traumatize and not even be aware of it.

We should have got this formation earlier, if we had it, we would had perceived the earthquake differently.

Our lives have entirely changed. Our relationships with others, the way we understand ourselves, we have become more self-confident.

Tikum Olam is the Jewish value that most inspires my life: professional and personal.  My experience in Haiti reminds me that meeting another with compassion and sincerity leaves both enriched.

Despite 62 years of innumerable accomplishments and accolades, Israel has lived in the shadow of existential threat since the creation of the state, and suffers from one of the largest socio-economic gaps in the developed world. Virtually everyone’s well being and resilience is compromised in some way or other. Evidence of this may be seen in the ever-growing aggression and violence in Israeli society: in its schools and sports arenas, at work and at home. The need for effective tools to reduce stress at home, at work and in public forums is clear.

Research has well established that prolonged stress is a major cause of physical and psychological disease and can significantly contribute to the development of:

Heart disease                                        Angina                                            Diabetes

Immune system dysfunction                                              Digestive problems

Arthritis                                                Anxiety                                           Depression

The Training Center for Mind-Body Skills was established to help the Israeli population better cope with these pressures and foster their overall resilience by teaching and disseminating an easy to learn, scientifically supported psycho-educational group model for stress reduction. The method provides participants with the theoretical and practical tools to better care for themselves, their families and their clients.

Stress can be counteracted and reducing stress can help each of us, and thus our society to be healthier, happier and more productive.

On Monday June 14, five Israeli NGOs published a unique position paper entitled “Working Today to Narrow the Gaps of Tomorrow”. The paper details the serious gaps in the health of various communities in Israeli society: between Arabs and Jews; between Ethiopian immigrants and the general population; between income support recipients, and others. The organizations found that the Arab and Ethiopian communities as well as recipients of income assistance suffer from various ailments to a much greater degree than the rest of the population.

The paper outlines the principles of a social policy designed to reduce the gaps in health status and in health services. In it, the organizations call on the Prime Minister to initiate a multi-dimensional national program to reduce health gaps. The organizations also propose quantitative goals and steps to realize the plan.

On June 14, participating organizations held a press conference in Tel Aviv to launch the paper. Photos of the press conference are available for free use on ACRI’s site (click on the links).

Barbara Swirski, Director of the Adva Center: “Israel must join developed states in working to reduce health disparities. Despite efforts by the Health Ministry and health funds to this end, Israel’s health policy does not include concrete steps to reduce the gaps. Israel must channel the information provided toward the formulation of a national health plan to reduce health gaps.”

Dr. Nadav Davidovitz, Chair of the Center for the Study of Health Policy in the Negev at Ben-Gurion University: “In contrast to the accepted perception, health services are not the most influential factor in people’s health; rather the most important factors are the environment and human behavior. As such, the Health Ministry must lead the process of reducing health disparities in cooperation with other ministries and authorities.”

Fekadu Gadamo, Executive Director of Tene-Briut for the Promotion of the health of Ethiopian Israelis, detailed the difficulties facing various minority populations and communities within Israel in terms of language and the lack of culturally appropriate health services. Tene-Briut attempts to reduce the discrepancies through translation services and by adapting services to the needs of Ethiopian Israelis. “The Health Ministry must adopt these programs,” Gadamo said.

Mohammed Khatib, Director of the Health Rights Center at the Galilee Society, detailed the connection between environment and economy, and health. “Arab citizens, most of whom reside in Israel’s geographic periphery, suffer from the inequality in health services, availability of medical equipment, and infrastructure,” he said. “A national program to reduce health disparities must include cultural adaptation to various communities as well as the provision of pre-conditions to good health.”

Read the full report in English online.

Normally, a week’s notice is required to find an interpreter. In this case, Chaim worked wonders – he managed to find an appropriate, available, local interpreter who could do the job and she too sprang into action. She went immediately to meet with the Deaf man and accompanied him in the ambulance from the city he lives in to the hospital in another city. From 8:00 pm until 2:00 am she stayed by his side, enabling him to receive all the information about the transplant and the risks involved, to answer his questions and concerns which ultimately allowed the operation to take place. Later that morning she was back – from 7:00 am to noon continuing to interpret for him and for his deaf wife as well.

For this Deaf man, who had waited over two years for an appropriate kidney to be available, this service meant the difference, literally, between life and death. His situation had deteriorated to a critical point, and the transplant, which was successful, came just in time.

Events like this are just one facet of the institute’s government awarded mission to provide support services for all Deaf and hard of hearing Israelis.  Services facilitated include Israeli Sign Language interpreting, computer assisted note-taking and reimbursement for the purchase of vital equipment. Practically speaking, this means that all Deaf or hard of hearing Israelis who need (and are entitled to) interpreters for any purpose, contact Chaim and he matches them up with an interpreter. The volume of requests is staggering – in 2009 there were over seven thousand requests. Interestingly, about a third of these interpreting assignments met needs in the field of access to health care. From 2008 to 2009 there was a 40% increase in the number of interpretations. There was also an increase in the number of requests for equipment.

* A capital D for Deaf indicates that the man is culturally Deaf and is a sign language user.

Surprisingly, we see that many women’s experience with the medical practitioners is of lack of cooperation or explanation, as part of patronizing and devaluating attitudes. The Israeli health care system addresses mainly physical illness and high-risk aspects of women’s health, while the concept of wellbeing and informed use of the medical options is lacking. There is limited accessibility of Israeli women, Jewish and Arab, to information necessary for the promotion of their health.

Founded in 2005, Women and Their Bodies (WTB) is a unique women’s NGO working to promote comprehensive social change in the health attitudes of Jewish and Arab-Palestinian women who reside in Israel. WTB is a member of the “Our Bodies Ourselves” (OBOS) international network of women’s health organizations, focusing on all aspects of women’s health in areas of conflict, with particular focus on sexual and reproductive health rights.

After 4 years of hard work, out of the 32 Hebrew chapters, 20 are complete and 12 are in various stages of preparation. Ten Arabic chapters are complete and 22 are in various stages of preparation.  The book in Hebrew should be published in June 2010. Initially, we intended to publish the Arabic edition a year later. Instead, we have decided to publish the Arabic version in three parts. The first part, including 10 chapters will also be published in June 2010. We feel that it is essential to get this information out due to the general lack of accessibility to information of this kind within the Palestinian community.

The goals of the Institute are to improve the quality of life of deaf and hard-of-hearing people in education, both as receivers and as providers and to enable deaf and hard-of-hearing Israelis to live independent and productive lives with full access to the types of services and opportunities already available to the hearing population. In order to meet these goals the Institute initiates, develops and runs a wide range of projects.

The Institute for the Advancement of Deaf Persons in Israel was established in 1993 by a group of professionals in the field and others for whom this subject is very dear. Their goal was to work in the areas that are not being served and to progress and improve the existing field. Today the Institute provides professional, educational and rehabilitation services to deaf and hard of hearing children, youth and adults in Israel (of which there are approximately 10,0000 deaf people alone).

Our Activities and Current Programs include:

Deaf Mentor Program: A group role model program for deaf children.

Support Services for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in institutions of higher education.

The Road to Economic Independence: Enabling Deaf and Hard of hearing Individuals to Join the Work Force

The Sela Center for Support Services: We are the official national provider of the government granted sign Language interpreting, computer assisted note-taking and the provision of equipment to which deaf and hard of hearing Israelis are entitled.

Deaf Children At Risk: A program to identify and work with deaf children who are potentially in situations at risk of abuse.

A Pioneering Storytelling Group of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people

The Sela Information Center that specifically addresses the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing youth and adults.

Deaf Jewish Heritage: Seminars to focus on modern Jewish history and fostering a Jewish Deaf identity with learning about Jewish Heritage.