Operation Embrace distributed supermarket vouchers to trauma victims in Sderot before Pesach, empowering victims to choose what they would want on their tables for Pesach. 
The fall of Kassam rockets creates a loss of control and gives people heightened feelings of hopelessness.  The following people are struggling.  Generous donors to Operation Embrace made it possible for victims of terror in Sderot to celebrate Pesach with hope. 

The following are a few stories of heroism from Sderot...

	Esther lives alone and has no family.  Esther was injured from a Kassam when she was walking on the street.  She suffers from severe pains in her legs.  She is currently receiving physical therapy as well as is being treated for depression.  When I gave Esther her Pesach voucher, she began to cry and cried out, “thank you to Mivtza Chibuk (Operation Embrace in Hebrew), thank you for not forgetting me.”
	Nelly has been injured by Kassam rocket attacks several times.  She suffers from severe trauma and does not leave her home.  She has made the bomb shelter her home.  Nelly repeatedly thanked Operation Embrace for giving her hope and the feeling that people really care.
	Liz is married and a mother of two small children.  A Kassam rocket landed directly on Liz’s home.  Liz suffers from acute anxiety and has been unable to leave her home.  Operation Embrace is providing funds for Liz to receive a degree in Accounting.  She is regaining a new sense of hope and becomes emotional when speaking about Operation Embrace for OE in her words, “a new lease on life.”
	Devorah and Avi are grandparents.  A Kassam rocket fell directly on their home.  They do not leave their home.  They now have even greater challenges for their daughter in law recently died during childbirth (the baby survived) and their son is battling cancer.  They are now raising the infant who survived as well as an older sibling.  They thank Operation Embrace for being a source of light in their lives.
	Matan, age 17 was running to find shelter when he heard the alarm that a rocket was soon to land.  The rocket landed next to Matan and he spent 10 months in the hospital with a partial foot amputation.  Due to the numerous infections, Matan has subsequently undergone an additional leg amputation.  OE continues to provide support on many levels to Matan and his family.
	Deganit is a single mom.  Due to the fall of a Kassam rocket that landed next to her she only goes out of her house to escort her daughter to kindergarten and returns immediately home.  Operation Embrace gave her a laptop computer where she can begin to connect with the outside world.  Deganit used to be a chef in a highly successful restaurant.  She is encouraged by OE volunteer Ted Fox of Los Angeles (who recently visited Sderot) to create a Sderot Cookbook on her new laptop.