Community
‘Mum said I was a failure. Emunah helped me succeed’
Story of hope moves supporters of Israel welfare charity at London fundraiser
October 3, 2019 13:34
By, Keren David
1 min read
Story of hope moves supporters of Israel welfare charity at London fundraiser
October 3, 2019 13:34ByKeren David, Keren David
Orel Nissan is the picture of success. At 22, she has a place at a prestigious Israeli drama school, she’s a photographer and a qualified personal trainer and her Instagram account has more than 13,000 followers. She also spent two years in the IDF, serving as a combat medic, and was featured in an El Al advert.
But she grew up in extreme poverty — one of ten children with unemployed parents. In an emotional speech, she told the audience at British Emunah’s annual dinner of the abuse and deprivation she suffered: “Things at home were not easy. Can you imagine what a challenge it must be for my parents to raise ten children in a very small house? It was crowded and there wasn’t always enough food for everybody,” Ms Nissan said.
Her father kept goats, and as a child she helped him with them. But this was no rural idyll. “We grew up without boundaries and sometimes my parents hurt us. Most parents encourage their children. My mother told me I was a failure.”
Things changed when she joined some of her younger siblings at Emunah’s children’s centre in Afula. “It was hard. There were rules and dress codes and I had to go to school.”
She was “angry with everybody. With my parents for not giving us a good home. The social workers for taking us away. The staff of the home for making me get up in the morning, making me do my homework, making me go to bed at night.”
Slowly, she adjusted to a more structured life, starting to do well at school. She paid tribute to the staff who “didn’t give up on me. With their help, I learned that I had talents and gifts and that I could succeed. But it was my responsibility to make it happen.”
The theme of the evening was “Everyone has a story” and the 260 diners viewed a video of a mother, Samhar, whose children went to an Emunah day centre.
Samhar had been abused by her parents, was a rape victim at 21 and became a drug user. With Emunah’s help, she learned how to be a good parent and now cares for her children and works rehabilitating former prisoners. Children’s clowns Rotem Goldenberg and Shira Sattier Friedlander also talked about how they built trust with children from troubled backgrounds.
Emunah operates 125 day-care centres across Israel, caring for more than 8,500 children every day. The dinner raised £250,000 for its projects.
Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis praised Emunah’s work, saying: “You create wonderful story-lines, particularly for children in distress.”
