Meet the 12 relatives volunteering to save lives in Israel
After serving as a medic in the IDF many decades ago, Zvi Noiman decided to continue volunteering in civilian life and joined Magen David Adom. Zvi has since passed away but his mission has been carried on by no less than twelve members of his family
His oldest son, Haim Noiman, age 51, began volunteering at the MDA 35 years ago. Of his four children, two, Or (20) and Shalem (18), currently volunteer in MDA. Haim’s 12-year-old son aspires to become a youth volunteer as soon as he turns 15.
Haim explained his family’s involvement in the MDA.
“It’s a lot of fun and a great honor to be part of a family that gives so much of itself to do good and help others,” Haim said in a recent statement. “My father was an army medic and instilled in us from a young age to do good and save lives. Two of my sons joined MDA as youth volunteers, and the three of us are now involved in doing good at home. A few years ago I donated a kidney to someone I didn’t know, and I still serve in the IDF Reserve’s Commando unit as a medic.”
Haim’s eldest son, Or, recently completed MDA’s Paramedic Course and is now a fully qualified paramedic. He completed the course while studying in a Yeshiva, as part of a program designed specifically for those in Yeshiva, who then join the IDF as combat paramedics.
Haim’s brother, Israel, age 31, is a Senior MDA EMT and has been active in the organization for 17 years. He began as a youth volunteer and recently became an MDA employee.
“My elder brother Haim swept me along all the time to MDA,” Israel explained. “As soon as I was old enough I joined as a youth volunteer and fell in love with helping others and saving lives. As a child, I used to see Haim with a response bag and running from one call to the next. The rest of the family followed us, and since then, we are one big, happy, life-saving family.”
Israel loves his family’s involvement in the organization.
“Looking on from the side, people think that it’s difficult for us,” Israel said. “But we see it differently – as a joint family mission and something to be proud of. Each time another member of the family joins MDA, we make sure to mark the event of another Noiman in the long chain of volunteers. We once had a shift with five members of the family, which was very special, and then we got to the hospital to visit my late father who was hospitalized at the time. He was very proud of us and asked us to keep up the good work.”
Their sister, Shifi Cohen, age 46, a teacher and resident of Efrat, has also volunteered in MDA for the past two years. Her interest came after two of her children, Ori (21) and Arbel (19), became active volunteers. Ori started volunteering at the age of 15 and was soon followed by Arbel.
“MDA was the topic of conversation for many years at our family table,” Shifi explained. “It reached a point where I had to find out what everyone was talking about, so I signed up for the EMT course.”
“The family greeted me with a lot of love and encouraged me, and all of a sudden I was addicted too and started to understand what it was all about,” she added. “The family helped me study for the exams and improve, and my first shift was with my younger brother Israel and my son Ori. Every so often I’ll meet another Noiman when I’m on shift, and it’s a very special moment – we meet while doing good for other people and saving lives together. I see my children helping others, and I learn a lot from them. It’s a very powerful and empowering moment as a mother.”
Ori, her eldest, added: “Volunteering as a family makes it a big, special experience for all of us, and also for our patients who discover that we are family. They are excited along with us. It’s not easy to come back from my military service straight into an MDA shift, but I won’t pass up the opportunity. I’m very proud of my mother and the rest of the family, and these are very special times for us.”
Arbel (19) has been volunteering for almost 5 years as an EMT, and despite being at a pre-army college, still continues to volunteer. Along with his regular ambulance shifts, Arbel prepares and accompanies trainers in MDA’s youth organization across Israel. Arbel teaches first aid courses to the youth, preparing the next generation of MDA.
Orit, another sister to the Noiman family, has three children, Matanel (25), Adiel (20) and Talia (16), who also volunteer at MDA. Adiel, who started as a youth volunteer, is in a combat unit in the IDF, but still goes back to MDA when on vacation and at weekends.
Another sister, Yael, has a daughter, Tzipi (17), who volunteers in MDA and does regular shifts on the ambulances and Mobile Intensive Care Units (MICUs). Yael’s husband, Hanan (38) recently joined as a volunteer on the ambulances. Hanan, who is a high school teacher, leads a project that sees the students combine emergency rescue subjects. Hanan completed the course with them and volunteers with his students on the ambulances.
Established in 1930 as a volunteer association, Magen David Adom is Israel’s national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance, and blood bank service. MDA currently staffs approximately 4,000 emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and emergency physicians, but relies heavily on over 26,000 volunteers who serve in both operational and administrative capacities and contribute over one million combined man-hours per year. The minimum age to join Magen David Adom’s basic first aid course and become a volunteer is 15. Out of these volunteers, 14,000 are teenagers between the ages of 15 and 18 and 12,000 are adults between the ages of 18 and 75.
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