Beersheva branch volunteers bring Purim joy to the homebound and frail elderly

Once again this year, the volunteers of Yad Sarah Beersheva plan to distribute Purim gift baskets to the homebound – the elderly, the sick and the disabled. 

More than 200 recipients are on the list for this holiday gift and visit; the Purim gift baskets are made possible by the financial support of the Beersheva community, generous friends in the USA and the many volunteers who give of their time to make these special deliveries.  For many of the recipients – this will be a rare meeting with someone who will help them forget their loneliness (even temporarily) and bring a smile to their faces.

For Purim, Chana was surprised to find herself delivering a gift to a former volunteer. He had worked at the original Yad Sarah headquarters in Jerusalem, and here he was now, in need of the same assistance that he had once provided for others. 

Yehudit, another volunteer, made her very first deliveries this Purim.  She was particularly moved by her visit to Gita, a widowed 80-year-old from Libya. Shocked to see someone at her door, Gita’s face brightened when she understood the purpose of the visit, inviting Yehudit into her home and telling her family stories.  She told Yehudit how much it meant to her to have a visitor for Purim. Her son, she said, had passed away a few years ago. It was he who had always brought her Mishloach Manot, and since his death, she hadn’t had the traditional Purim delivery from anyone.

“She was very happy to see someone. She couldn’t stop talking,” said Yehudit.  “I really feel that I made a mitzvah.”