Hadassah New Zealand benefits from collaboration with the Israel Focus Group.

Building Bridges to PeaceHadassah New Zealand

new zealand2In late May, Hadassah New Zealand was approached by two of its strongest supporters and members, Jeff Cook and Rosemary Currie, regarding a monthly initiative by the Greenlane Christian Centre called the Israel Focus Group.

This wonderfully pro-Israel group believes the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancient land of Israel in accordance with the Covenants made by G-d which stand to this day, and that the modern State of Israel rebirthed by majority vote in the UN is a fulfillment of this historical right. They are committed to praying for the peace of Jerusalem, Israel’s security, and the welfare of the people. They wish to educate the wider secular community about Israel by holding regular meetings with guest speakers. They vehemently oppose anti Semitism and anti Zionism in both the media and the community at large.new zealand3

The Israel Focus Group arranged for their July event to be a fundraising and membership drive for Hadassah New Zealand. In consultation with the Hospital, the Hadassah New Zealand committee agreed that a Paediatric Otoscope (autoscope) and Ophthalmoscope costing US$1,032 would be an excellent piece of equipment to fundraise for. All advertising and organizing for the event was done by the Greenlane Christian Centre. The agenda for the afternoon consisted of talks by a Hadassah New Zealand founder, Lee Goffin, about her late mother’s involvement with the formation of Hadassah International New Zealand and a taped SKYPE interview with a young New Zealand medical student working at Hadassah. ‘The Heart Has No Borders’ DVD was shown and Hadassah New Zealand president, Jennifer Leiman, spoke.

The fundraising efforts of this generous group and their donations saw Hadassah New Zealand able to purchase not only one, but two Otoscopes. It also brought new members.

Hadassah New Zealand is indebted to and remains sincerely appreciative to Rosemary Currie,Pastor Mike Porteousand the team of organizers at the Greenlane Christian Centre as this was a very successful fundraising event. It also educated a large number of people in the wider, supportive community about Hadassah, its international outreach programs and it being a Bridge to Peace through medicine, healing and research.