As the mother of young triplets it was obvious to all those around us that we had experienced our own fertility challenges. It was during our many appointments at doctors’ waiting rooms that I thought how hard it must be not to have the funds available for treatments that were so desperately needed. If only we could help…..start an organisation to help raise money to fund couples struggling to conceive on their own. This epiphany would have just remained a thought had I not received a phone call, shortly after my children were born, from a kind and caring lady in our shul. She was trying to raise money for a couple who needed fertility treatment and couldn’t afford it. In a few hours we had raised the R15 000 needed for this couple. If we could raise money so easily to help create a life couldn’t we do this for more than one couple…. and so an organised funding initiative to help those struggling with infertility began.
We know that the name of a child is never by chance and so too with our special organisation. At the same time as this organisation was being established a young girl who had been seriously injured by a car lay in ICU in critical condition. Sadly she passed away. During the shiva it was felt by some women in the community that it would provide a level of comfort to her parents if an organisation, dedicated to bringing children into the world, was named in her honour. Her parents agreed and so the Malka Ella Fertility Fund was born. More recently the logo of the Fund was changed to incorporate the name of Netanel Feigenbaum who died tragically in a car accident at the age of 15. It has been our honour and privilege to be associated with the Salitan and Feigenbaum families.
To date hundreds of treatments have been funded and over 140 babies have been born to the Malka Ella Fertility Fund. It is truly a privilege to be involved in such holy work. May we continue, with Hashem’s help, to assist all those who are travelling this difficult path.