Who is Dr. Naama Halevi Davidov?
She's a woman from
Israel, wife, mother, and successful businesswoman.
When the October 7th tragedy occurred in Israel, her son was serving in the Israeli Defense Forces. The next day, she received a phone call from him.
"Ima, (mother), what can I do to help one of my fellow soldiers? His parents and three siblings were all murdered in their home during the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. He's all alone in the world."
She
answered immediately. "Let me help."
Naama sprang into action. She came to the young man's side, comforted him, and even arranged for the burial of the five members of his family. She helped him through the grieving process and began to care for him as if it was her son.
And then she discovered that there are actually 39 orphans in Israel who lost both parents on October 7th. So she started to get to know each and every one of them.
Some of them were younger children who were adopted by uncles, aunts, and grandparents. But the uncles and aunts have their own families, and the grandparents are elderly. And so she took it upon herself to help every one of those orphans, too.
And then there were young adults who were
living on their own. And she said, "I'm going to be the mother to all of these 39 children."
Since that phone call from her son, she has devoted her life to these children.
Naama quit her job as a chief financial officer in a high-tech company and started Assure for Children, a non-profit organization to ensure the future of the
children.
On the Sabbath, she calls every one of them just like a mother calls her children. "How are you? What's going on? Come for dinner, come and spend the Sabbath with us."
If she can't reach one of her "children" she'll check on them.
Some have been so depressed they can't get out of bed, or they don't pick up their phone. So, she goes to the apartment, makes sure they get out to eat lunch.
She raises money for them for whatever they need. She gets them an apartment, furnishes it if they're independent, and starts setting up bank accounts for every one of these children and young adults. She makes sure they'll have money for education, weddings, and life events.
Naama has devoted herself to these 39 kids with every fiber in her being. And she doesn't call them orphans. She calls them her children.
What motivated her to
make her enormous commitment?
A number of years ago, Naama was diagnosed with a very serious illness that could have been terminal. During that time, all she could think about was what would happen to her children if she wasn't there. Who would look out for them the way she does?
By the grace of God, she is a healthy survivor, filled with gratitude to God. When she got the call from her son that fateful day, she knew it was her mission to step in for the mothers who were no longer around to, well...mother them.
Naama's story is about what it means to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Realize that what we would want for ourselves is what every single person wants for themselves. Therefore, we should try to love every person and care for them because they have the same needs, same wants, same desires, same aspirations and goals in life.
