OWN CORRESPONDENT
Pictured: Helen Maisels
At the forefront of the launch was 29-year-old Israeli social entrepreneur, educator and activist, Adi Altschuler, who was voted in 2014 as one of Time magazine’s six future world leaders.
Today Altschuler heads up Google’s Economic Platform in Israel and was formerly head of Google Education.
She spoke about the two prominent initiatives which she established in Israel, namely Krembo Wings, the first and only Israeli youth movement for special needs children which she set up at the age of 16. The second is Memories@Home, a project in which young people invite Holocaust survivors into their homes on Holocaust Remembrance Day and hold discussions on the significance of keeping the Holocaust alive.
Her presentation was extremely well-received by the huge audience, captivated by her energy, her remarkable achievements and her passion for changing and improving lives. There are today at least 5 000 young Israelis who are part of her Krembo Wings movement.
As an extraordinary agent for change, Altschuler’s talk reflected the embodiment of WIZO whose focus is to change and improve the lives of the vulnerable and less fortunate through a range of initiatives.
WIZO SA supports day-care centres, schools, shelters for abused women, foster homes, technical training colleges and after-school facilities in Israel.
Helen Maisels, vice-president of WIZO SA, talked about WIZO’s many programmes in Israel and their high standards of excellence and care.
Expanding on WIZO’s role and Altschuler’s message, she said: “WIZO, through the efforts of its membership, seeks to make a positive change to the lives of the less fortunate. No one who heard you tonight, Adi, would be in any doubt that you are an extraordinary agent for change through your energy and initiatives. You have transformed the lives of thousands of young people in Israel. We salute you and we acknowledge that deep-seated sense of compassion that has driven you to do so much at such a young age.”
Maisels spoke about her family’s long involvement with WIZO – her grandmothers and her late mother Muriel who was an honorary life president of WIZO and her sister in Oxford who chairs WIZO there.
“This is a WIZO family and we are proud of it – because this is what Jews do – they help those less fortunate than themselves.”
But she stressed that she was not alone and that “there are many, many WIZO women who define their charitable work across the same generations”.
“WIZO is a non -party political NGO with observer status at the United Nations. It is headquartered in Israel but operates throughout the Diaspora in over 50 countries.
“It promotes the empowerment of women and the pumping heart of its rank and file believe in equality for women in all spheres of life. Equally, its membership is marked by its inclusiveness and a shared Jewish spirit:
“In each of the countries where WIZO operates, the national federation supports a particular WIZO project in Israel. Apart from the obvious monetary benefits; this structure offers a large local and international network for WIZO members.”
