Help Peninah Get to Israel

My little sister, Peninah, fell in love with her Australian Jewish youth movement when she was in Grade 3. Since her first encounter she has attended almost every weekly meeting, and has been on every camp. Over this time, I have seen her love of Judaism, Israel, education, and social action grow into something unique and beautiful, and in year 11 she proudly became a 'madricha'- a youth councillor- passing on her love to a new young generation of Jewish children. 


Since Peninah heard about the movement's flagship program, a Gap-year of education, experience, and volunteering in Israel, she has been determined to take part.  Dealing with the difficulties her dyslexia presented in Year 12, the thought of going on Shnat at the end of the year was often times the only thing she hung onto to get her back up every time she fell, and fight so hard to overcome the challenge. 

Despite coming from a family of financial hardship, Peninah has determinedly spent the last two years working to raise enough money to go, and her dreams are finally coming true. After counting down the last 700 days until its departure, Peninah is set to depart in 5 days, on the 30th of January. Her tickets and backpacks are packed and ready, proper 'shnat' boots and all. 

However, she received a phone call tonight explaining that there had been a miss-understanding, and that Peninah was $8,000 short of being able to go on the program. 

I'm turning towards the community to help my little sister fulfil her dreams; to finally reach for the first time the land whose flag she proudly displays up on her bedroom wall, to spend a year with her beloved friends learning, growing, and loving, so that when she comes back she can pass on her wonderful spark onto future generations of Jewish children.