ICEJ supporting recovery program for Nir Oz residents

By Nativia Samuelsen

“My hand is outstretched not to be alone.”

This is a powerful line from a poem written by Bracha, a resident of Nir Oz, about facing the loss of her husband and a son during the Hamas massacres of October 7, 2023.

We met Bracha on a recent visit to meet displaced residents of Nir Oz residents, which lost one-quarter of its 400 residents either killed or kidnapped on that horrific day. She also lost her home in the fires started by the terrorists and had nothing left. But Bracha survived because she was on a trip to Egypt on October 7.

“At least now, the rest of my children still have a mother,” she said.

After being moved to new, temporary housing, she enrolled in a special trauma therapy program for 52 surviving families from Nir Oz with the financial support of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem. The unique initiative combines practical support with trauma care.

Kibbutz Nir Oz was one of the hardest-hit Israeli communities along the Gaza border, and many of the hostages still held by Hamas are from their village. So, their return to their small farming village and family homes has not even begun yet. But this ICEJ-sponsored project aims to assist these families who have endured unimaginable loss, as they begin to heal and rebuild their lives in interim housing before finally making their way home.

Nir Oz residents are currently living in a new neighbourhood a half-hour away in Kiryat Gat. Through the generosity of ICEJ-USA, the 52 families who chose to join this program were awarded a grant to purchase replacement household items destroyed on October 7. Then, each was paired with a social worker and a volunteer interior designer. These volunteers listen to their stories, understand their emotional needs, and help them select and put in place household items that make their new living space feel more like home. Through this program, these families also are reminded that they are not alone in their journey of recovery, and especially that Christians are standing beside them.

“Our homes were warm and beautiful, but small. We are modest people. Our homes were built over the years. My house burnt completely. My husband and my son were murdered, and I felt so alone,” shared Bracha.

She welcomed us into her newly designed home, full of colour and with her own unique fingerprint. On the wall in the entry, there were two beautiful portraits of her husband and son drawn by a talented friend. A ledge on the wall below was full of frames with pictures of the family.

“I wanted this to be a living memory, constantly changing and creative,” shared Bracha. “And I wanted that everyone who comes here will find their place. My grandchildren love to play with and change out the pictures when they come. This home is still being built. I’d like to put up more shelves for more pictures.”

“In the beginning, the [temporary] houses felt like a cookie cutter of one another. It was terrible! Now suddenly, the homes have taken on the personality of the residents. I lost my house, but I wanted this to feel like a home. My miracle is that I wasn’t home on the 7th. I have five children, four remain, and nine grandchildren.”

“What I love most is colour. When you come in you feel that it is a home. I love to do planters with different succulents inside. I don’t know how to draw, but I love colours and I do intuitive drawing with colour. It is a way for me to treat the trauma without medication.”

Following our visit to Bracha, we went to Gidi and Miri’s home, accompanied by community social workers. Miri is a massage therapist, and Gidi is a manager in the agricultural wing of the kibbutz. On the 7th of October, all the staff in the agricultural wing were murdered, leaving Gidi and only one other co-worker alive.

“Gidi’s extensive experience in agriculture meant that he was needed on the kibbutz,” said his wife Miri. “He is always at the kibbutz, but without the community there, he feels lost. It weighs heavily on him. He didn’t have the strength to think about this, to make purchases. He had to work.”

Miri described how her husband could not stop to grieve. He had to continue for the well-being of the crops and the business. Nevertheless, going back to the offices and seeing things as they once were—though all the staff had been murdered—was greatly challenging and has left Gidi feeling depressed and without much energy or interest in other things. Particularly, it is painful to visit the covered patio with its table and chairs around, where all the agricultural team would sit as a “parliament” to discuss, eat lunch, or have a coffee.

On October 7, Gidi and Miri were in America visiting family. They were receiving all the horrible messages from their friends and relatives and were out of direct contact with their children for 33 terrifying hours. The experience is a trauma for them to this day.

“We came here (to Kiryat Gat) with nothing,” Miri explained. “What wasn’t robbed, was destroyed, or broken. It isn’t possible to touch or save anything. The Gazans who came in even took our shoes and left theirs behind.”

Soon, these families will have to say goodbye to whatever remains of their former homes. Plans are in place for the government to clear out the houses once the families have had the chance to see if anything is salvageable, and they will level everything else and rebuild from the ground up.

After hearing about the support program, Miri finally decided, despite Gidi’s lack of interest, to participate and receive some help. It still took her about 3 to 4 months to collect the energy to try it. These months were interspersed with a lot of bitter news regarding the hostages, attending memorials, and so on.

“The designer gave advice and was very helpful,” she recounted. “She didn’t intervene but gave me direction. It took some time to purchase the items.”

Miri purchased beautiful furniture and even bought Gidi a recliner chair he had always dreamed of. Others come to visit and are encouraged, and now her daughter, who at first disliked the cold, temporary apartment they moved to, wants to come and stay with her parents again.

“Even when we are not home, she will come to stay here because it now feels like a home,” Miri assured, adding that her husband also now appreciates the help and interim home.

“In our visits with just a few of these displaced Nir Oz families, we were so touched to see them finding a way forward because of the generosity of our Christian friends,” said Nicole Yoder, ICEJ VP of Aid & Aliyah. “For people like Bracha, who lost her husband and son, and Miri and Gidi, who survived immense trauma, the project has offered both practical help and a chance to heal emotionally. Our hope was to let these distraught families know that they are not forgotten or alone. And, listening to their stories, it seems that the message came through loud and clear.”

The program’s focus is not just on replacing what was lost, but on creating homes that feel like their own again. Through colour, personal touches, and thoughtful design, each home reflects the unique fingerprint of its residents. We are privileged to stand alongside these precious families, and are inspired by their resilience and courage.

You can support this and other projects being sponsored by the Christian Embassy to help Israeli families recover and rebuild from the war sparked by the October 7 massacres. Please give today to our Israel in Crisis fund at:  help.icej.org/crisis

Main Photo: Bracha loves potting succulents on her balcony.