After I gave my sister placemats from the Ethiopian Arts and Crafts Center in Sderot, she contacted the designer and gave a donation for a showcase. I was surprised that they turned a thank you for my sister into a 90th birthday party for me.

I started thinking about how the embroidery project started in ESRA 30 years ago when on a visit to the Kfar Saba Absorption Center, where the Operation Shlomo had brought a group of' Ethiopian olim, a volunteer of ESRA said, looking at the strips of embroidery done by the Ethiopian women, that they would be perfect for mezuzot. That was the beginning of ESRA's embroidery project wherein Ethiopian women embroidered mezuzot and other items. Tens of thousands of embroidered mezuzot were sold all over the world. I have one on my front door from then.

So what began as an ESRA project has taken off in Sderot. Today it is organized by a group from the kibbutzim led by Dr Gili Zivan from Saad who originally bought embroidery from ESRA's project to attach to her paintings. Today the embroiderers are "old timers" and help run the Center with the kibbutz members. And I can retire.