Hello,
My name is Michal Esban, mother of Yotam, a combat soldier who was seriously wounded in the war.
I still remember the phone call. They told me Yotam had been wounded. I collapsed onto the table and cried my heart out. His company commander was killed by a sniper, and Yotam suffered a severe head injury.
Being by my son’s side in the hospital, while the doctors prepared us for the worst, was a nightmare. Yotam went through a long rehabilitation, and thank God, two weeks ago he had the privilege of getting married.
But I don’t forget the mothers who remain by their sons’ bedsides for months, and even years, living with the fear, the waiting, and the stress that almost no one sees.
That is why I founded the Ima Leviya (“Lioness Mother”) nonprofit organization, which now includes nearly 600 mothers of wounded soldiers. We provide them with a supportive community, therapeutic activities, empowerment workshops, mental health treatment, and tools to help them keep going. >