SOLDIER TESTIMONIALS

Before I moved to HaBayit shel Benji, coming home from the army was like starting a countdown. I knew I’d be back on base very quickly, and actual time to do anything is really just about 24 hours more or less without counting sleep. I always had to worry about how early I would be dismissed from base, so that I would have enough time to buy food for Shabbat or the next few days and also have enough time to launder my clothes.

And obviously I wanted to do nothing more than sleep and relax. All of this took away from the normal relax time in which one licks their wounds, and has some fun with friends. It was mentally exhausting.

HaBayit shel Benji is nothing less than a God send for Lone Soldiers. It was the place I could call my one and only true home in Israel. There, I didn’t have to worry about what time I’d make it back to base, or buying food, or washing my uniform and clothes, because dedicated volunteers provided breakfast, lunch, and dinner and did our laundry!

We were taken care of and I breathed the breath of relaxation. The Bayit was for me, my fortress of solitude. A place I could be alone, lick my wounds, and think to myself in peace and comfort.

Robert S.

USA

HaBayit shel Benji is a very warm and good place for soldiers. Living in the Bayit has helped to reduce lots of everyday problems which has enabled me to progress. Without the help and support I would not have been able to get to where I am today (officer’s school). From the beginning the atmosphere in the Bayit was good and welcoming. I particularly remember Friday night meals which were warm and like being in a family. Even though everyone has friends from before, we will always remember the time we spent together in HaBayit shel Benji.

Daniel R.

Ukraine

I am indebted to an amazing woman by the name of Eti (from the Benji Hillman Foundation Guidance Center). Eti helped me tremendously when I was in need of financial assistance. I didn’t need monetary help since that is a temporary solution. I needed a long-term solution, one that involved understanding how to relate to money and how to defer gratification.

The organization helped me by introducing me to Eti and giving me the tools to learn to live within my means, that is, not to deviate from my monthly income. In addition, I was taught how to avoid going into overdraft, yet still manage to have fun like all young people should.

The Baayit shel Benji organization has been there for me the whole way. Any question I have is answered, and the help is not a one-time event but rather ongoing for as long as is needed.

Arye W.

Israel

I moved back to Israel to start school. The bureaucracy seemed to pile up, I had to finish registration and enrollment in school, find and furnish an apartment, pass the Hebrew requirement, apply for scholarships, register with Misrad Haklitah, and a laundry list of other affairs I had no idea how to approach. I was referred to the Benji Hillman Foundation Guidance Center. Dana immediately met with me and paired me up with a mentor to help me get through the list that stood between me and a successful start of the school year. My amazing mentor, Tami, happened to work in the faculty at Ben Gurion University where I was planning on studying. She helped me with all administrative affairs I had to resolve with the enrollment office. Tami always welcomed me in her office, stopping everything to help even with things that are completely unrelated to the lone soldier program. She also organized a donation of appliances for my apartment (a brand new laundry machine and dryer) and contacted friends in the city offices so they could help speed up the piles of paperwork I sent them. I am eternally indebted to her for the warmth, help and advice I received through it all. Today, I am in the middle of the first semester. All of the obstacles are behind me and I’m finally settled in, thanks to all help and patience from the foundation.

Amit N.

Canada

I am a new immigrant from Brazil, every step I take has been with the help of my mentor who is there to point me in the right direction, from the most challenging changes to the simplest questions. I met my mentor through the Guidance Centre. Today I have found a flat, furniture and work and I am planning to study next year. All these things were made possible with the assistance of the Guidance Centre and my mentor. And this is just the beginning!

Yitzchak S.

Brazil

I emigrated from Canada two & a half years ago. I joined the army. I lived in various places, with my Grandmother, in a home for soldiers and on a kibbutz, but there was one place that I stayed in from the moment I got there, because I could never find another place like it- and that was HaBayit shel Benji.

I have lived there since it opened. When I got here it was still quite empty. There were 10 soldiers in the house. Gradually the number of soldiers and volunteers in the house increased. The feeling was amazing. A real feeling of Home and each soldier or volunteer who joined us made me happy as it showed how many people worried and cared about us personally, as we had left our own home (abroad) and our parents to come and serve in the IDF.

For a long time now the house has been full of soldiers, both boys and girls and when my friends come home (to HaBayit shel Benji of course) it is great to learn about each unit and what it does. We established a new family; we went out together, to parties, to the beach or just sat out in the garden and chatted or spent time together in the club room downstairs playing snooker.

Now I have been released from the army and I have left the Bayit. There are several things that I got from the Bayit, friends who will be my family forever, guidance for my new road in life from all the staff and volunteers and the most important thing love and nostalgia for them all.

Today I can say I am a more responsible, independent and disciplined person. All this is due to the help I have received in HaBayit shel Benji.

I would like to thank the staff at the Bayit and all my good friends who were there with me & for me all along the way.

Dan B.

Canada

I served in the army for three years. During my service I was recognized as a lone soldier. As such, I had to move residences several times within a short period of time.

I got to know Beit HaHayal (the soldier’s house run by the Friends of the IDF), I saw an apartment arranged for by the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel’s Soldiers (HaAguda Lema’an HaHayal) and I was shocked and upset over the conditions there.

After these unpleasant experiences, my welfare NCO mentioned HaBayit shel Benji to me. From what she told me, it sounded like a dream, something not real. I agreed to try and move into the Bayit, despite my fear that there too I would not feel comfortable. A week later I was settled in the Bayit. From day one I felt as though this was my home. I met amazing and loving people: the staff, the volunteers, the National Service girls and the soldiers already living there. The atmosphere was indescribable – I could not believe that such a place existed. The home itself is beautiful. It has everything I needed: delicious food, lovingly prepared by volunteers, a bedroom that was always clean and tidy, a club room where I could hang out with other soldiers and watch TV, staff that loves and cares for everyone, endless orders of pizza J, fun weekends that were organized especially for us … and many other things.

Sasha M.

Russia