By Yudit Bolotovsky

It was just a typical day in Sderot, Israel for Larisa Abramov and her family. She had just returned home from school and was ready to begin her homework and complete her daily tasks. Larisa, being only 9 years old at the time, grew up constantly taking care of her younger sister Galit, who was 5 years old. Suddenly, the words “Tseva Adom” signaled throughout the entire city. This was the alarm system which warned the people of Sderot that they had 15 seconds to reach a bomb shelter and hide from the Kassam rockets. As Larisa, Galit, and their grandfather heard the warning signal they immediately ran to the safest place in their house, one of the back rooms. Larisa instinctively wrapped her arms around her younger sister, covering her completely, in order to protect her as best as she could. After the first rocket had fallen, Larisa thought that this was the end of them. However, this was actually the last moment that she can recall from that day. Larisa woke up in her living room, where the walls were completely collapsed and her entire house was actually on fire. Fortunately, her neighbors were there immediately to help rescue Larisa and her family. The Kassam had landed directly in Larisa’s house, and the impact from the explosion had thrown her across her house. Not only had this horrible experience caused trauma to Larisa, the intensity of the explosion also caused her to loose part of her hearing. Talking to Larisa about her story was heartbreaking, but her resilience is awe-inspiring. This really opened up my eyes to the reality of the situation and the severity of the trauma the Kassams can cause.

Larisa’s story is one of many which truly shows how strong these kids are forced to become under they circumstances they have grown up in. When asking Larisa what her thoughts are on the Kassam hitting her home she responds very selflessly “Just that this experience didn't make me hate all the “Arabic” people, like people around the world think sometimes, that just made me a little bit stronger and ready for this situation.” Larisa demonstrates nothing but maturity during her time at Camp Boston-Sderot, and is known for her dependability and great sense of responsibility.

Attending Camp Boston-Sderot over the past two summers has shown me how powerful and beneficial our program really is for these kids. Over the past summers and throughout the general development of the project, these kids have shown tremendous improvement in their behaviors and attitudes. Specifically in Larisa’s case, her counselor Hailey Pirovich, saw extreme potential in her and was impressed by her helpfulness and general positive attitude. She was constantly given leadership positions and actually taught Zumba class during our activity periods. “If she was not in the cabin, she was always helping other counselors handle their arguing kids or taking care of small issues around camp. She showed a great interest in becoming a CIT and working to make the camp a better place.

When given the role as Commando Games team leader, she excitedly built up team spirit and unity, even among new campers.” Larisa is a huge role model for the younger campers, and continues to inspire everybody around her to stay positive and give back to the community rather than resent those who have hurt her emotionally and physically.

“For now I just know that I want to do my army service in the best way I can do, I want to give everything from my self. But before that Ii want to volunteer for a year with teens from Israel”. “ describes Larisa about her future plans after she is finished with school. “

It is heartwarming to see Larisa go on to help other teens her age overcome their issues, similarly as we did for her through the camp.

If you want to help kids like Larisa and continue the development of our Camp Boston-Sderot program, you can log onto rjcf.com and donate! Thank you for your support.