If you’ve ever had difficulty signing up for a Women Wage Peace event, you’ve probably met Rosara virtually. She shows us that one can contribute to the Movement even if one can’t go everywhere, because for Rosara, volunteering and helping are a way of life.
In her own words “Volunteering brings me joy and desire to meet the people who sign up, and help them. This way I feel part of what’s happening and happy that I am able to help even though I am home-bound and can’t get around.”
I was born in Brazil. At the age of 18 I made Aliya by myself while my family arrived a few years later. I lived on Kibbutz Bror Hayil for ten years, two years in Tel Aviv and In 1989 I returned to Brazil. Yet, I from time to time I visited my mother, my sister and relatives living here in Israel. In Brazil I was teaching Hebrew, Jewish Studies and Bible, trying to convey the love of Israel to the children there.
I heard about Women Wage Peace (WWP) while I was still in Brazil. When I first saw the Mothers’ Prayer clip, I was so excited, and even now, whenever I hear the song I still cry. Obviously, I immediately signed up to the movement. I deeply believe in social activism and determined effort, which are also characteristics of our work in this movement.
In Brazil we established a collective group and developed a neglected plot of land which had been used only for drugs and crime. We found and restored 8 springs and returned the plot to the people who lived around it. Until then, people avoided walking there as the square was used by criminals and drug dealers. We got organized, developed the area, and held festivals to attract people there. On one occasion a group of Indians arrived and told us that they were about to be evicted from their homes. We began to help them, held marches and demonstrated on Paulista Avenue (a central place where people go to demonstrate), and also negotiated to cancel the eviction with the police officials who were supposed to evict them. Together with two other friends, we began to work with children who were totally cut off from the land, since they had been living in city slams. In order to connect them to the land we prepared a vegetable garden. Later, one of the teachers invited us to work with a group of older children. Now the Indian village has both a beehive and a vegetable garden. I keep in touch with these Indians and see that the place continues to develop.
When I retired, my mother in Israel needed help. I didn’t want a foreign worker to take care of her, so I decided to return to Israel to do it myself. My son (aged 24 now) stayed in Brazil – he is a street artist, circus performer, pantomime artist and violin player.
Following my enthusiasm about the WWP movement, and my understanding the benefits of volunteer and giving to society, it was clear I would try to be active here. Back when I lived in Tel Aviv in 1987-9, I worked in a restaurant with a guy from Gaza (in those days people from Gaza still came to work in Israel), it was clear to me the importance of living in peace with our neighbors. The uniqueness of Women Wage Peace is the desire to bring peace and hope.
I landed in Israel in June 2017 and read on the website about “Drive in Peace“, which would take place at an intersection in my neighborhood. I went there, met Haviva Melnik, and began my activity in the movement. At that time, the campaign for the JOURNEY to PEACE began. I saw that volunteers are required, so I offered my services. I started by making lists and supporting those who had difficulty registering for an event. I joined up with Tal Cohen and began dealing with emails and support, together with other volunteers. This is how I got to the SmarTicket team, happy to be able to help.
In the course of the Journey to Peace, at the event in Jaffa, I was excited to meet face to face with women who had guided and accompanied me – so exciting! At the peak day at the Dead Sea I met other volunteers and women whom I had helped. It was amazing, and it all came together.
At the end of the March, I felt a vacuum in my life. I wrote that I wanted to continue my activity. Tammy Avigdor taught me the Smarticket system: how to build events in the website, create pick-up points and fill in missing details. I call people to fill in their missing details and help them with registration. So far I cope with supporting the registration, but for future big projects, more volunteers will be needed. Currently I am part of Tal Cohen, Tammy Avigdor and Yael Braude’s team, with Dina Oster who is in charge of registration for the Women Parliament.
I want to point out that volunteering brings me joy and a desire to meet and help new members of Women W age Peace. I feel part of the big picture and happy that I am able to help even though I am doing it from home and not always able to get around.
Translated by Brenda Liptz
