Last week, Sderot Media Center and the South African chesed organization Divote teamed up to distribute gifts from South African Jews to children in Sderot schools, lifting the spirits of the children in the war-torn city.
Divote is a Jewish chesed organization in South Africa that was started five years ago by John Moshel. The goal of the organization is to make it possible for every Jew in South Africa to empathize with the children of Israel who have been hurt by acts of terrorism and war and bring happiness to them.
The organization has new and different plans all over South Africa including children from Jewish schools and organization and regular people. The people send a small gift to every child in Israel through volunteers in Israel.
During the second Lebanon War, the organization sent around 1,000 packages full of gifts to the children of northern Israel that were sitting in bomb shelters.
During the disengagement, hundreds of packages were sent to the families that were taken from their homes and put in hotels. Today, the whole community of Durban, which has a population of only 2,500 people, are sending gifts to the children of Sderot, to show empathy for their suffering and make them as happy as they can.
These packages were given by children from the city’s Jewish school, families and elderly people who wanted to take part in this project.
* A Project of the South African Jewish Community and Sderot Media Center
