2023-11-13 13:10:43
“It is a great satisfaction that soldiers go to sleep after eating this comforting food,” Lior Makonen, leader of the volunteer group of the “Traditional Ethiopian Kitchen” and head of recruitment and welfare at the high-tech company Lightbits, tells ‘Dev’ to ‘Davar’, “There were mixed opinions about the Ethiopian food and it was less suited to the palate The Israeli. Now it is enjoyed, and there is awareness of its health value.” Since the beginning of the war, the volunteers of the ‘Traditional Kitchen’ have provided hundreds of dishes of Ethiopian food to soldiers, evacuees and anyone who wants them.
Orit Zenba, career development mentor and manager of the Ashkelon Employment Bureau, also manages the ‘Traditional Ethiopian Kitchen’ group on Facebook, which during the war became infrastructure for the food distribution project. “I aimed the group at young Ethiopians with the aim of preserving the tradition through our food,” says Zenba, “and I dedicated it to the memory of my late brother Shmuel. Very quickly it expanded to other audiences, and this is my goal – people who are exposed, bond and connect through food.”
Zenba, Makonen and dozens of other volunteers connect breweries and restaurants that are interested in donating Ethiopian foods and the soldiers, evacuees and war victims who long for them. “When the war started, we encountered many mothers who asked to donate,” says Makonen. “Everyone wanted to help. And requests began to arrive from Shlomi soldiers, Tzalim, Nabatim. There is a great demand.”
Very quickly a docs document was opened in which requests can be submitted, contact was made with restaurants such as Gojo in Rehovot and Herzliya, cooperation began with the social chameleon in Jerusalem who bought meals at cost prices, and a network of volunteers was created throughout the country, bringing the food to the army bases and the hotels of the evacuees .
“I trust our community that we will take care of everyone”
On Friday at noon, Makonen arrived with her family at the Brown Hotel in Tel Aviv, to deliver Shabbat dishes, which were prepared at a restaurant in Herzliya, to the Berkau family who were evacuated from Sderot. “The whole family has been here since the first week of the war,” says Asher Barkau. Getting along, but it’s not easy. The fact that you can enjoy our food even under these conditions is gratifying.”
Makonen talks about the unique requests the group receives. “An elderly man in a nursing home from Ashkelon did not agree to evacuate his home. His nanny, who had evacuated to Netanya, contacted us, and we prepared homemade food for him. A single soldier, not from the community, contacted me privately, and told me that he would be happy to receive a portion in honor of Shabbat. From there, portions were distributed to his entire unit, And we’ve already been to them twice.”
Lior Makonen, from the leaders of the ‘Traditional Ethiopian Kitchen’, together with Asher Barkao who is from Sderot. Makonen: “Our community faces quite a few challenges, I am happy that we create platforms for closeness and involvement” (Photo: Yahal Faraj)
Zenba describes a request they received from a group of soldiers from Hebron. “We found a family from Kiryat Arba who prepared the food and brought it to the base. For me, it’s exciting.” The group tells of the gratitude of many soldiers for the food, including a soldier who sent a message: “I just came back from the exercise, the injera gave me my strength straight away.”
Makonen is sure that requests that reach her will be answered. “I don’t know how, but I trust our community that we will take care of everyone. I contacted someone in Be’er Sheva, she organized women and they prepared meals for 50 soldiers, for giving kindness and bringing hearts together. Our community faces quite a few challenges, and I am happy that we create platforms for closeness and involvement in Israeli society.”
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