When Orian got out of the shelter, nobody would tell her what happened to her mother. She waited for hours. She was 16 years old, she had a neck brace, and she already knew.
Her mother Ronit had walked her grandmother toward the shelter — her grandmother had an injured leg, and Ronit always walked with her. They didn’t make it in time. Rescuers found them later, in a corner of the collapsed shelter, still holding hands.
You gave $13,751.33. Because of you, what came next for this family was not collapse.
Nissim, a 44-year-old electrician, left his job, left his city, and moved to Beit Shemesh to be with his children the week it happened. He cooks, does the laundry, manages the therapy appointments, pays the school bills. Everything that used to be shared is now his alone. He tells his kids every day: you are heroes. You beat the missile.
Your giving is why he can say that without also saying: we have nothing left. Because of you, Nissim has had something to lean on while the government bureaucracy moves slowly and the bills do not. Because of you, the therapy his children cannot go without has continued. Because of you, when the school registration bill arrived for Itamar — thousands of shekels — he had something to pay it with.
Orian told us her mother always said: remember who your mother is. That sentence carries her now, the thought that Ronit would be proud of her for staying, for continuing, for taking care of her siblings.
Nissim asked us to say thank you. He said it is not something to take for granted. We want to say the same back to you: you showed up for this family the way Ronit spent her whole life showing up for everyone else. That matters more than we can say.
But their story isn’t over. The Elimelech family has a long journey ahead of them and will continue to need your support. If you can continue helping, please click here.