Interview with a Volunteer
An opportunity to get to know the people behind the wheel.
‘Shir’ Song of the Heart
Interview with Noya Becher
Shay Cohen, September 9, 2022
“Let’s meet at The Bookworm at Rabin Square,” said Noya. I smiled as I remembered the Tel Aviv culture hub, an island of sanity where, in the past, I’d spent many a peaceful hour. Although I didn’t remember Noya, it seems we had both been at Sdot Yam recently on the annual beach day. Later, I looked through the hundreds of photos for a shot of Noya, but in vain. It seemed, to my surprise, that this charming woman, so reluctant to speak about herself, had somehow managed to elude every camera.
A Lead Starling
Interview with Yehoshua Rosenstruch
Shay Cohen, July 8, 2022
“Talk to Yehoshua. A unique person.” So, armed with words of praise and encouragement and a bit apprehensive about meeting someone of such a lofty status in an Association full of special people, I set out for Café Ben Ami in Herzliya to meet this exceptional person. Although he is one of my own people, his path in life and achievements could not be more different and so fascinating.
The Inner Grammar
Interview with Nili Gardin
Shay Cohen, June 3, 2022
“I remember saying to myself: good gracious, how normal it is. Nothing amazing or unusual happened, as basic and simple as it gets – a meeting between people. Usually, the passengers are exhausted from the day that began at 4 in the morning, or from the tiring treatments, and communication and conversation doesn’t always flow, and I also tend not to be overly communicative. If the passengers are more outgoing than myself, then a conversation may develop, and I can really go with that.”
Butterfly to Flower
Interview with Noga Shavit-Zinger
Shay Cohen, August 4, 2022
Noga Shavit-Zinger, from Kibbutz Dvir in the South, is a volunteer driver and travel coordinator for The Road to Recovery. Noga is married and has an 18-year-old daughter. As a volunteer, she has been driving Palestinian families from crossing points to hospitals and back for the last four years. In her mind, huge swarms of faces flutter around, images of children, men and women who manage to penetrate deep into her consciousness. “I have often dreamed that our car rides would be filmed during the journey. At the same time, I also dream of an opportunity for discourse amongst volunteers, conversations that would touch the edges of the stories and gather them up. To create a circle. There are so many stories within this solitude.
The Change She Wants to See in the World
Interview with Loren Shekh-Abid
Shay Cohen, August 9, 2022
Since I joined the Road to Recovery Association, Loren`s name keeps cropping up, and is always said with a look of appreciation, even admiration, reserved for few. For some reason, I did not meet her until our recent beach day at Kibbutz Sdot Yam. It was not until the end of this exciting event, when we sat down to rest from the heat, that a woman with a black hijab came towards me, large sunglasses covering her soft face, wearing a black and white animal print dress, and introduced herself. “Hello, I’m Loren, and I was told I should talk to you…”.