Liora Chaya Levich

One of the most impressive aspects of Augustana College is the importance the Augie community places on international and off-campus programs; although the "Augie Bubble" is a supportive and wonderful community to be involved in, it's extremely beneficial to break away from that bubble every now and then, and experience a new adventure. Augustana offers a variety of opportunities to travel internationally with programs ranging from a trimester abroad, summer classes abroad, exchanges, international internships, service learning trips, and even travel enhanced courses. This past summer, I decided to take one of those opportunities and intern at an Israeli humanitarian, nonprofit organization called Save A Child's Heart, located in Holon, Israel. Originally born and raised in Israel, I was excited to return to my home country with a purpose, and even more grateful that I was able to use Augie Choice, a $2,000 scholarship, to help fund such an amazing opportunity.

 

Save A Child’s Heart is an Israeli humanitarian organization that brings in children from all over the world to Israel,  specifically children that are in need of open heart or other intensive, cardiovascular surgeries. Most children and their families come from countries where such medical treatment is unavailable or extremely expensive, and SACH provides them with everything from the cost of the flight, the accommodations, the surgery itself, post and pre op medical care, as well as food, toiletries, and any additional supplies they might need during their stay. All kids and their parents stay for a minimum of 3 months, but most stay for at least 6 months. The pre surgery paperwork and medical tests can take a while to process, so children will often receive their surgery only a few weeks after their arrival. After the surgery is successful, rather than returning the children back to their home countries right away, in case any complications arise within the following weeks, the children stay a few extra weeks to be monitored. That way, in case a complication does arise, they are still in Israel and can be treated immediately. The hospital that is partnered with SACH is called the Wolfson Medical Center, and since SACH brings in children from all over the world, the hospital staff are exposed to many people from a rainbow of cultures everyday. Throughout the children’s stay, the staff goes to great lengths logistically and personally to assure the comfort of each child. This includes providing certain food if they have religious or cultural dietary restrictions, obtaining movies in their native language to bring to their room to watch, finding translators to ease the process as a whole for them, and many times even bringing toy and clothing donations from Israelis or the staff.                

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond all of this, the Wolfson Medical Center, in partnership with SACH, opens up a Palestinian clinic every Tuesday where Palestinian residents from the West Bank and the Gaza strip are allowed entry to Israel in order to receive medical treatment for their children. Anyone even slightly knowledgeable about Middle Eastern Issues, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, would realize what an incredible effort for peace such a partnership fosters, particularly under the given circumstances of the constant tensions between Israel and its neighbors. I was fortunate enough to visit the Tuesday Palestinian Clinic, and it was one of the first times in my life that I had a chance to speak to Palestinian residents face-to-face. The bottom line was that these families were no different than any other family that just wanted to provide the best care for their children, and what really left a mark on me was that through talking with some of these families they personally told me that due to the help and medical care SACH was able to provide them with, they have better views overall in regards to Israel. In the West Bank and especially the Gaza strip, Israel is not portrayed in the most positive light to it’s residents, so it was heartwarming to know that the organization I was spending my summer volunteering with, took the time to encourage a peaceful relationship between the two sides. When I think of true intercultural competency and I look around SACH and the Wolfson Medical Center, I see children from all over the world of different backgrounds, speaking various languages, I see Israeli doctors treating Arab children, and Jewish children playing alongside Muslim children alongside Christian children… and I know I made the right choice to spend my summer volunteering here. Overall, it’s clear to see that SACH is an amazing organization that believes all children despite of race, nationality, socioeconomic background, skin color, or religion should have proper medical care and a second chance at life. Among all that, they also train doctors from various countries so that they return to their home countries to provide pediatric cardiovascular care. During my internship months, SACH was training an Ethiopian doctor who will be the first pediatric cardiovascular surgeon in all of Ethiopia when he returns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As an Educational  Intern at SACH, my duties required intense preparation and commitment. Besides assisting with everyday household chores, preparing the kids for dinner and bedtime, or going grocery shopping, my main duties were interacting with the kids and doing some sort of educational activity with them. Since the age groups for the kids varied (the youngest was 10 months old, and the oldest 17 years old), the other volunteers and I would split the kids up into age appropriate groups, and take turns doing activities with them. When I worked with the younger groups, I focused mostly on teaching them English through arts and crafts, teaching them math through hands on activities, and we even experimented with a science activity when we made cookies and mixed up different ingredients together. As the days on my volunteering internship went on, I realized something incredibly crucial: for many of these children, the activities they get to do here, as well as the overall life the live here at SACH for a few months, is probably the only time in their life they’ll ever have an experience like this. Many of these children come from what would be considered by Western standards as a “Third World” country, and the majority of them come from lower-income families, so for them, making arts and crafts with endless art supplies, or baking cookies with new ingredients, or playing dress up with costumes, etc. is most likely an experience they’ll only have here at SACH. When they return back home, they won’t have the same means or supplies to do the same. During my stay with SACH, there was even a little girl who was found to be hiding toys, bits of food, and clothes she was given in her closet. When it was clear what she was doing, she explained that she wasn’t trying to steal anything, but rather that she wanted to bring some things back to her home for her sister and mother, because they didn’t own such nice things. This little girl, about 6 years old, was already aware of such a deep issue, that while she was receiving all of this care, her family back at home was struggling. It was a very surreal moment for me, and it made me realize how incredibly fortunate, and often times spoiled, kids in the Western World are. We take for granted simple things like clean clothes, food on our table, and running water, while this little girl, at such a young age, was already so aware of real world, “adult” problems, so to speak. It was a grave reminder to be thankful for all that I had in my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I worked with the older kids, activities of sorts were also implemented, but the main goal was to improve on their English speaking skills. The majority of the children and parents did not speak English fluently, if at all, so it was important to establish an environment where they felt comfortable to learn a new language.

Despite the fact that I had grown up in Israel and lived there previously, this was a complete culture shock for me, particularly because English was not the dominant language, and Hebrew (the official language in Israel and my first language) was also not known among the families. The cultural environment was also very different, as the families and kids that were there during my volunteering time came from Ethiopia and Zanzibar. While there were nurses present who could translate, they weren't always available during the activities we did. Throughout my internship, I learned the valuable skill of communication, and specifically how to communicate without speaking; such a skill is not something that is commonly thought of as a useful quality, but it proved to be a necessity in my situation. I also added new phrases and words in foreign language to my own vocabulary, and as I was teaching them words in English, they would teach me words in Swahili (from Zanzibar) and Amharic (from Ethiopia). Attempting to communicate with parents and children that don't speak any language that I speak proved to be challenging, yet highly entertaining, and even educational. I learned that despite the cultural and language barriers, certain aspects of how you present yourself and your attitude are perceived as an international language, such as a smile... a smile will always go a long way. Overall, throughout learning to communicate without spoken words, I realized that everyone has their own personal story and background that they come from that makes them who they are today. It reminded me of meeting immigrants back in the United States, and how often times it’s difficult or intimidating to learn a new language. I realized that you should never judge someone who might not speak perfect English, because it only means that they know another language, and have their own story and background-- there’s always ways to communicate without spoken words.