Mother and Daughter on the Family Program - Linda Deskalo
Who would have thought waking up at 7 AM and dressed in uniform for breakfast would be fun for vacation? Well, that part wasn't that fun. But our experience with the VFI / Sar-El program was great.
We were in a family program which had six parents and their children. Interestingly enough, in our room which had three adults and three teenage girls all the same age got along very well. One of the woman was from England and we continue to correspond today. The other room had two teenagers and a parent and a grandparent. The third room had a father and son, and a spouse and their two sons of one of the women in our room. Although we were from different parts of the country and out of the country, we all managed to bond together.
Initially, we thought our
family group would be stationed near the center of the country but we ended
up going down to The Negev. It was a rewarding experience because my
daughter and I are both Hebrew speakers and we had the opportunity to converse
with the soldiers in Hebrew. Our madricha, Shirlee, wanted to make sure that
our stay was meaningful and helpful to the Israeli Army. We took several
trips including a fun day in the north where we met several hundred Sar-El
volunteers from all over the world. We also had a chance to tour Ben Gurion's
home at Sde Boker and also his burial spot. In addition, we learned about
a fighting brigade during the Independence War. Not only were we performing
needed assistance on the army base, but we were also given the
opportunity to attend lectures by our madricha about the State of Israel.
This was an awarding experience and I hope to participate in VFI / Sar-El program in the future. This experience was also rewarding for my daughter.
Avital's thoughts: My job was painting trucks that were needed for the Gaza Disengagement in August, 2005. Although this work was hard and the temperature was in the nineties, and I might not have chosen to do this work, it was an unforgettable experience. Also, I met teenagers close to my age and we still keep in contact today. In addition, I am fortunate to speak Hebrew so I could converse with the Israelis on the base. Even though we are 8,000 miles apart, I found that the Israelis and I have a lot in common.
