The Jerusalem Post — Magen David Adom’s Overseas Volunteer Program held its annual ceremony on Thursday, July 21, with 158 foreign volunteers in attendance, half of whom had completed the June program and the rest about to begin their ambulance shifts.
After 10 days of extensive training, the volunteers are deployed on ambulances and provide support —both physical and emotional — to their patients.
Participants who have completed their time in Israel reflected not only on the practical knowledge they gained from the experience, but also the life lessons they learned while carrying out their duties.
Natalie Levin, a volunteer from Switzerland, said that the support given can come in many different forms.
“We took a young woman to the hospital after she was involved in a car accident,” she recalled. “She had no family members in the ambulance with her, and she did not let go of me. I could see the gratitude she had in her eyes for all of the emotional support I gave her in her most vulnerable moment when I held her hand.”