This trip, I want to say, was well planned considering the number of places we were able to cover and the choice of the places we visited, as well as the city tours that were conducted with us.
DAY 1
The guided tour of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center was a very emotional one for me as this gave a fresh and deep understanding of the evil the nation and people of Israel went through but also showed glowingly the resilience of the people and the determination never to allow a repeat of this evil.
Spiritually this opens ones heart of understanding to depth of evil that was unleashed against the people and I must say this evil is still lurking in today’s world and it calls for diverse interventions (I will speak on this in my final recommendations) SELAH!!
The City tour of Jerusalem on the first day gave me a deep and fresh understanding of the multi-ethnic nature of the country as well as the religious diversity of the country with an enviable tolerance amongst the people contrary to the picture of Islamic hate being perpetuated in the media.
It was a pleasant experience as a Christian to visit the Holy City and sites of the foot-path of where my saviorwalked. For this I remain eternally grateful.
DAY 2
The visit to the Media House KN1 was another eye-opener to the liberality and freedom of information that the media enjoys in Israel which allows for true expression of talent and resourcefulness in multi-media content curated and created by Israelis working in that sector and the rich diverse content that can add color to the media landscape globally given the opportunity and platforms.
KN1 through this trip can now have a working relationship with our own organization (AYV Media Empire) for mutual benefits in news and current affairs coverage. Thanks to you for this new ally.
Michal Reshel – International News correspondent was very warm in her reception and conducting of the tour around the facilities.
Next visit was to Magen David Adom in Israel where we were given a warm welcome and tour of the facilities and the preparedness of Israel to medical emergencies of different natures across the country.
This certainly is an enviable institution that can be mirrored in our nation as well as other struggling nations in Africa.
Chaim Rafallowski (Int. Coordinator, Magen David Adom in Israel) provided us with insights and working demonstrations of how things work.
Day 3
Ramat Negev R&D Center
Our day started with a tour of the Ramat Negev Research & Development Center.
We were first introduced to students from Gambia, Liberia and other parts of Africa who shared their learning experience in Agricultural studies infused with some entrepreneurial hands on training for plans to invest and start Agro-allied related businesses in their home country.
Visit to the Nova Music Festival Memorial Site in Re’im,
This particular visit was one of the emotionally draining visit because we saw first hand the pictures of innocent youths and diverse age groups who met their untimely death in the hands of blood thirsty terrorists who killed all ethnic people groups present including Muslim Israeli Arabs who joined other ethnic groups to enjoy one of the music festival that are not commonly held in Israel.
We were able to listen to a heart-rending testimony of one of the survivors of the October 7th bloodbath.
Day 4
Visit to the Alma Research and Education Center for a strategic geopolitical briefing on the northern border of Israel.
We were able to see the potential security threat on the Lebanese side of the border in the North of Israel and what a private institution is doing to monitor and alert the authorities whenever there is any potential danger from the Lebanon side.
Next stop was our visit to some religious historical sites in Haifa and a city tour of Haifa.
We visited the famous Mount Carmel – religious site of the Prophet Elija’s battle with the Baal prophets. I was priviledge to read the Holy Scriptures on this religious site and what a joy that gave to me.
From there we visited the Bahai temple in Haifa.
We were then taken on a culinary tasting journey through the city of Haifa were we spent the entire afternoon till just before sunset.
Then we headed back to Tel Aviv.
Day 5
Visit to the Save a Child’s Heart Foundation
This visit allowed us to see and experience first handone of the quiet yet powerful philanthropic gestures of the nation of Israel and the impact this is having on several African countries. We interviewed the Operations director who gave us more insight to the activities and interventions of the foundations.
Visit to the Shimon Peres Center for Innovation:
This was our last official visit and what a way to end the state visit – a place surrounded with tranquility and memorabilia of a man known for his strides for development and advancement of the nation of Israel.
A worthy protégé to one of the founding fathers of the nation of Israel in the person of his eminence the Ben Gurion of blessed memory
I had the unique privilege to seat at the very same official desk of the man that said “Never be afraid to dream Big”… so dreaming big will be my mantra going forward.
This was how we wrapped up our official visit and after checking out of the hotel we had dinner with a rep from the Israeli ministry of foreign affairs.
The 5 days working visit was intense but definitely enriching in every way.
Many thanks to Ambassador Roey Gilad and the entire staff of the Israeli Embassy in Ghana for this unique opportunity to visit the state of Israel.
