120 people braved the freezing cold to attend the Israel Guide Dog Centre UK’s Annual Reception on Wednesday 20 November.
Held at the Engine Rooms in Finchley, the Reception not only featured Rob Rinder MBE as the host, but also, from Israel, guide dog user Dany Layani with his guide dog Rolly and Lisa Haet Baron the Centre’s International Liaison Office. It was a particular pleasure to welcome back Rolly as she had made aliyah from the UK to the Centre in Israel as a puppy nine years ago by IGDC UK Chair Jon Benjamin. In addition, the guests were beautifully entertained by the Immanuel Primary School choir.
Rob Rinder spoke emotionally about the importance of Israel to all of us, and how the Israel Guide Dog Centre epitomises all that is good about that very special country: “By enabling resilience, freedom and independence to people from across the political, religious and racial divide, the Centre is all that is good about our wonderful state of Israel”.
Dany’s story was a wonderful example of the Centre’s lifechanging work. He lost his sight at just 20-year-old when a bomb exploded in the trench where he was sheltering during the first Lebanon War. However, Dany never lost his thirst for life and thanks to partnerships with a total, so far, of five guide dogs he was able to pursue his studies at university gaining a first degree in social work. He then completed another advanced degree in Islamic Fundamentalist Studies. For seven years, he worked as an advisor on Islamic Fundamentalism in the Prime Minister’s Office. For the past three years, he has worked with disabled veterans as a Social Worker for the Organization for Disabled Veterans. In addition to being multi-lingual (he speaks Hebrew, French, Arabic and English), Dany reads many books and plays sports, especially skiing and tandem biking. Dany also found time to get married and raise four children: three girls and a boy who are all now adults. All of which he puts down to the ‘miracle’ of meeting Noach Braun over 30 years ago when he was just about to establish the Israel Guide Dog Centre, which would go on to breed and train not only guide dogs but also service dogs specifically trained to help IDF veterans and civilians suffering with PTSD and emotional support dogs for children with autism.
Now, more than 30 years on, the work of the Israel Guide Dog Centre is needed more than ever as 15% of all injuries in the current conflict are vision related, and the incidence of PTSD never having been higher. Lisa was able to share the Centre’s ambitious plans to breed and train significantly more dogs each year than every before in order to meet the ever-increasing demand. But to do this they urgently need funding from donations to enable them to build more kennels and train more trainers.
Finally, the evening ended with a beautiful performance from the Immanuel Primary School choir which culminated in an emotional rendition of the Hatikva.
