Jewish Life Digital Edition November 2014 | Page 64

Holiday time

The NO
WORRIES
tour

A GROUP OF 33 ISRAELI TEENAGERS (AND TWO
Israeli staff members) who visited Johannesburg for four days recently are no ordinary bunch. These youngsters included
madrichim and madrichot (volunteers)
from Be’er Sheva, who took care of children in their communities during Operation Protective Edge. These teens come
from a variety of backgrounds, youth
movements or organizations, and were
handpicked for the trip of a lifetime because of their selfless dedication to the
children of Be’er Sheva during the war.
The Be’er Sheva council, together with El
Al Airlines, decided that these young volunteers deserved a treat, and so a variety

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of destinations were chosen, such as
Prague, Paris, Russia and our very own
Johannesburg, South Africa.
Initially, when Ronnie Kaplan (treasurer
of The Hope Tour South Africa) approached Meirav Shenker with this project, she was not keen. “The The Hope Tour
tour is my project and my passion.” The
Hope Tour, an organisation that helps children with cancer, brings a group annually
from Israel to South Africa, and it is this
tour to which Meirav dedicates all her time
and energy. It is Meirav’s fierce and tireless
ability to orchestrate an unbelievable experience that gives the The Hope Tour trips
so much soul. However, with dear friend

Ros Bookris from El Al on board, and her
own mother being a resident of Be-er Sheva, Meirav’s heart was already captured.
Meirav’s tour expertise, together with
the generosity of the Johannesburg Jewish community, ensured the group had a
jam-packed, fun-filled four days on what
Meirav aptly called, the ‘No Worries Tour’.
“It was an incredible trip; the only
problem with it was it just wasn’t long
enough! But the amazing thing is that the
SA community could make such an impact in such H