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mda australia activities
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2009 INTERNATIONAL MDA AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CONFERENCE (IMDAC)
18th-21st October 2009
- a report by GLYNIS LIPSON, President, MDA Australia
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18th
The IMDAC opening ceremony was a special and heartwarming occasion. This year's opening
event was a cocktail party where conference participants and their partners, as well as
Magen David Adom staff, were able to meet and mingle in a relaxed and fun environment.
The evening's MC was Gadi Yohan. At first, we were all a little perplexed by this choice
as Mr Yohan didn't appear to have any connection to Magen David Adom. After welcoming us
all, Gadi told the story of a young man who, following a night out, came home and went
into cardiac arrest. MDA Paramedics revived the man 19 times before he was stable enough
to travel to hospital - 19 times the man was technically dead! However, the MDA medical
team refused to give up. Thanks to this amazing effort, the man survived. The man, as we
would find out, was our MC, Gadi Yohan.
The realisation that this horrific story was, in fact, about the fit, young, charismatic
man standing in front of us, left us all in awe. In a special touch, the MDA team that
saved Mr.Yohan also attended the cocktail evening. It was so touching to see these modest
heroes interacting with their former patient. While we all had much respect for the team,
which included a 16-year old youth volunteer, the Australian delegation was extremely
proud to learn that one of the paramedics who had saved Mr.Yohan's life, was Melbournian
Eli Slonim, who moved to Israel to work as an MDA paramedic.
The evening's Guest Speaker was Dr. Shirley Oren. She told of how she had worked together
with MDA paramedics to save the life of a fellow train passenger who was also having a heart
attack. Having just arrived on the platform, ready to take her two young daughters out for
the day, Dr.Oren responded to cries for a doctor. An elderly man, Mr.Zvi Malmud, had
collapsed on the platform. After making sure her daughters were safe, Dr.Oren worked on
Mr.Malmud and, together with MDA paramedics who quickly arrived on the scene, was able to
save his life.
Mr.Malmud was especially invited to thank Dr.Oren and the MDA paramedics. Speaking in English,
he put a humorous spin on his harrowing experience saying that he didn't know what he would
tell his wife after learning that Dr.Oren had performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on him.
Mr.Malmud was extremely emotional as he was reunited with the very humble Dr.Oren and the MDA
team who saved him. We all had tears in our eyes as we witnessed the moving moment.
Concluding the evening was MDA President, Professor Yehuda Skornick, who welcomed us and again,
in a proud moment for the Australian delegation, spoke of his recent trip to Australia and
praised the work that is being done here. He also made a special mention of his meeting with
Victoria's Young Magen David Adom, which is only the second such group in the world. He even
showed the YMDA's publicity video made to promote its major function, "Plastered". Professor
Skornick called on other Societies around the world to follow in Australia's footsteps and
promote young MDA groups.
The evening was a perfect opening for the IMDAC conference, reminding us all, first-hand, of
the amazing work performed by Magen David Adom. It set just the right tone for a friendly, but
productive, conference.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19th
Our eventful day got underway as we boarded the buses at the Tel Aviv Hilton and began our
"pilgrimage" to Jerusalem. Our knowledgeable guides provided relevant historical and geographical
information as we traveled.
Our first stop was the Knesset where we were greeted by Reuven Rivlin, Speaker of the Knesset,
who spoke about the importance of the Knesset as the democratically elected legislative body
of the State of Israel.
Ruby Rivlin warmly praised MDA's outstanding work and its vital
contribution to the State of Israel.
We then entered the Knesset Chamber where a guide described the physical layout of the chamber and the
duties of the representatives.
We were then taken to Jerusalem's Old City, the purpose of which was to be present at the dedication
of MDA's new "Wish Ambulance" funded by Sweden's MDA Friends' Society. The ceremony took place
on the upper plaza facing the Western Wall, the holiest site for Jews.
The project fulfills the wishes of terminally-ill or bedridden patients who have expressed a
desire to travel to any part of the country. This ambulance is equipped with state-of-the-art
technology and is staffed by specially trained MDA paramedics and senior medics - all volunteers
- as well as the patient's personal medical team. The dedication was attended by the Deputy
Minister of Health, the Rabbi of the Western Wall and MDA officials, who expressed their
appreciation to the Swedish Friends for undertaking this unique project.
From the Old City, we traveled to the MDA Jerusalem station, which is currently undergoing
extensive renovations and expansion financed by the American Friends of Magen David Adom.
From Jerusalem, we drove south to Ofakim, a town 20 km from Beersheva and capital of the Negev
Desert region. We learned that Ofakim was built in 1955 as a development town -= mainly by
immigrants from northern Africa and India. The purpose of our visit was to attend the dedication
of the town's new MDA Station funded by the generous donations of the French Friends' Society.
The new station replaces the old, outdated structure which could no longer meet the needs of the
growing town of 25,000 residents, as well as the surrounding rural communities: Jewish, Arab and
Bedouin.
Four ambulances will now be stationed there, providing necessary medical services for residents of
Ofakim and the surrounding area. During the recent fighting in the south, Ofakim came under fire
from long-range rockets which also hit rural the communities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Nachal Oz.
The MDA Ofakim Station inauguration was certainly a most memorable occasion and a fitting
conclusion to a full day of events which revealed the vital role that MDA Friends' Societies play
in financing essential projects for the benefit of all the country's inhabitants.
Following the formal part of the day's program, we had dinner with MDA district employees and
volunteers who had been invited to join us as as a token of our appreciation
for their fine work in saving lives.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20th
Tuesday marked the start of the formal proceedings of the IMDAC conference.
We were welcomed by Nicholas Posnansky, Chairman of IMDAC, Noam Yifrach, Chairman MDA
and Yehuda Skornick, President MDA Israel.
MDA's Director-General, Eli Bin, gave an overview of Magen David Adom's activities over the
past 12 months and explained that this year's focus would be on preparing MDA and the Israeli
public for a possible, extreme earthquake. MDA is preparing itself for such a scenario through
a work doctrine, written and exercised. MDA has begun a procurement process that will continue
in the coming years.
After lunch, we continued with discussions on the activities of all the Friends' Societies over
the last year. It was very interesting to hear of how the various Societies' fundraising events
were being carried out around the world.
Minister Binyamin Zeev Begin gave an impressive presentation on earthquake preparedness in the
Middle East and explained that the most concrete threat which Israel facesng is a massive
earthquake along the Syrian African rift.
Tuesday evening was free time for us all to enjoy a night out in Tel Aviv.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 21st
The morning started with an address by Henry Ejdelbaum (UK) who spoke of the importance of the
global recognition of Magen David Adom through "product branding".
We were then treated to a very special guest - Dr.Mirle Sidrar, who was injured during the
Hamas missile-strikes on Ashkelon. She related her ordeal at the recent Goldstone Commission.
This was followed by a lecture by Mr Uzi Dayan, former Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of National
Security who spoke about the threat from Iran.
The day's proceedings concluded with elections of the new IMDAC Board, which now comprises:
Chairman: Nicolas Posnansky (UK)
Vice-Chairmen: Lazar Kaplan (France) and Glynis Lipson (Australia)
Treasurer: Gershon Trimpol (US)
This is the first time that a female has held a position on the IMDAC board.
CLOSING CEREMONY
The closing ceremony was held in the Tel Aviv Hilton Hotel Ballroom.
The surprise Guest Speaker was Israel's Minister of Defence, Ehud Barak, who applauded the
lifesaving work of Magen David Adom.
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MDA Australia delegates
with MDA senior management:
(L-R): Alon Fridman (MDA Deputy
Director-General), Sharon Malecki,
Glynis Lipson, Eli Bin (MDA Director-General)
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After the last four days of intense activity,
we danced the night away together with the
staff of MDA.
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AUJS STUDENTS VISIT MDA DURING PROGRAM IN ISRAEL (January 2009)
During their 6 week program in Israel organised by the Australian Union of Jewish Students,
participants spent time with Magen David Adom. This is the first time that such an event has been
included in an AUJS program and, judging by the students' response, it's likely to become a
regular feature of future programs.
Students undertook a First-Aid and CPR course as well as touring several of Magen David Adom's
facilities including the National Dispatch Centre and National Blood Bank.
While at the Blood Bank, most of the students took the opportunity to donate blood which they
found to be a meaningful experience particularly during Gaza crisis period.
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