Help Avi & Tia rebuild their home & livelihood

FIRE!

On May 23, 2019, fire raged in the Ben Shemen forest and raced through the community of Mevo Modiin, Israel.  The village was ravaged and in the process, Avi & Tia's home was devastated. Not only did they lose their home, but also the agricultural equipment and facilities that Avi needs to maintain their livelihood  was also lost. (Avi is an organic farmer raising avocados, lemons and vegetables.)

In minutes they lost their home, tractor, farmhands quarters (they employ 2-3 workers), cold storage facility, packing house, storeroom, etc. Their house sustained major damage - the second story, an apartment where their son and his family lived, was reduced to ashes - nothing was left of it or its contents. The first floor, where Avi & Tia have their home, was severely damaged, too. Whatever was not destroyed by the flames is suffused with smoke and soot.

Who are Avi and Tia?

Avi has been one of my best friends since we were kids in St. Louis.  In 1973, when the Yom Kippur War  broke out, he dropped out of college to come to Israel and volunteer. He worked on a kibbutz and a few months later, met Tia when she came to the kibbutz Ulpan (intensive Hebrew language course).  About a year later they married. Israel has been their home ever since.

Forty years ago they moved to Moshav Mevo Modiin.  Avi dreamt of  helping to feed the world using sustainable, organic agriculture . At the Moshav, he was able to make the dream a reality. His produce is sold in Israel and around the world. 

Avi with some of the organic produce he grows
(this field & all its irrigation equipment was destroyed - see picture below of the same field after the fire)

On the Moshav, they established a family and raised three sons. They also had one daughter, who unfortunately died when very young. Inspired by the care their daughter received in the hospitals, Tia decided to go back to school and study  nursing. Her child was gone, but she became a nurse-midwife and has helped bring thousands of children into the world. Today she is also a senior nursing instructor at the Tel Hashomer Hospital Nursing School teaching the next generation of nurses and midwives.

For most of the forty years they've been on the Moshav, they lived in a tiny concrete home with two bedrooms - one for them and the other for their three sons. About 15 years ago they began planning their "dream home".  But a farmer's life is hard and not very lucrative.  Slowly they built their new home around the tiny house in which they raised their kids.  Finally, a year ago, they moved into their new home. Their son and his family moved into the apartment upstairs. Finally they had their "dream home" - until last Thursday's nightmare brought it literally crashing down.

What now?

Fortunately, Avi, Tia and their son's family escaped unharmed. They had less than 15 minutes to evacuate, but they and the workers and pet dogs are all safe, thank G-d. 

As they cope with the trauma of this experience, they are sifting through what is left of their belongings to salvage what they can, But most pressing - their farm needs to be run. Not only must they cope with the huge financial hit to their home and the farm, but every day that Avi can't work the farm sets them back further.

Right now, we are trying to raise a bare minimum for them to get the farm operating again and  satisfy their basic needs - before even beginning the daunting task of rebuilding  their home and all that they lost. They immediately need to buy a replacement tractor (used costs $7-10,000); all their irrigation  equipment (pipes, sprinkler, valves, etc.) in the fields was destroyed by the fire; various other agricultural equipment also needs to be replaced; the list goes on and on...

With your help, and G-d's, we can put them back on their feet. 

Who am I?

My name is Yosh Mantinband.  I've known Avi since childhood and Tia since about the same time Avi met her. I've lived in Israel since 1981. Every penny received through this campaign goes straight to Avi & Tia. I set this page up but they are the beneficiaries and only they can withdraw funds.

Update 2019-06-04 - How can Israelis donate in NIS?

Many people have written to ask me about this. If you are in the same situation, please write directly to me - yosh AT mantinband DOT com.

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If you have the stomach for it - here are more pictures & videos...

The Moshav burning:


Inside their home:


Where the shed next to their home used to stand - nothing left of it or what was inside (e.g., the bicycles they  rode across America on the BikeCentennial trail, Avi's photography equipment, precious mementos, etc):


Their son's family's apartment on the second floor - everything reduced to ashes:

Avi's vegetable field after the fire - this crop and all the irrigation equipment is gone (see same field in picture above from a few years ago):