Recently, I had a tough conversation with someone who questioned why, during a war, we would focus on getting toys for children and washing machines for displaced families and soldiers. Their perspective was clear—it's all about bulletproof vests, clothing, or tourniquets for soldiers; anything else is just not a priority during a war.
The weight of their words lingered, much like the heavy feeling after talking to a young woman, now 14 years after the events in Gush Katif, who still carries the trauma from that time. Yes, there is a war out there, and winning it is undoubtedly crucial. Every soldier is vital - but it's equally important to recognize the lives of the over 200,000 people left without a home, most of them children, who will bear these scars for decades.
The urgency of this mission hit home once again when I spoke to former residents of Gush Katif, who spent months in hotels, because they are the only ones to really understand what happens to a family stuck in a hotel for months. They told me the ability to do laundry and have access to a washing machine was the biggest game changer. More than the ability to do their own laundry, it gave the families a sense of autonomy and dignity that they are starting to function on their own, like a family should, and take care of their own needs. In particular, one woman, who was 14 when she was expelled from Gush Katif, started crying, when she remembered her mother finally getting access to a washing machine and an electric stovetop, so that they could cook their own meals. "That's when we went back to being a family," she said.
And the soldiers' reaction to washing machines was priceless - "We won't be stinky anymore!"
Leah Aharoni, Co-founder/Executive Director