Israeli Flying Aid (IFA) organization was established in 2005 by Gal Lousky, after many years of humanitarian activities and reach experience.

 

IFA`s major goal is to provide humanitarian aid and relief to people and communities in areas stricken by nature or territorial conflicts.

 

Following are some of the latest operations conducted by IFA:

 

April 2004; Genocide in Darfur, Sudan - Assistance to the survivors (2.5 million black Sudanese were killed).
IFA initiated a special project in the refugee’s camps; In order to protect the refugees from deadly violent outside the camps, IFA employed workers from Chad to collect for them the essential wood for fire and distributed it inside the camps.

 

June 2004; Hunger in Eritrea - IFA shipped and distributed food supply.

 

January 2005; Tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka
IFA’s founder led a unique relief model integrating the efforts of 25 different organizations from the world; the project focused on the disaster areas in Sri Lanka.
The main idea was treating disaster victims from an holistic-global point of view which required a multidisciplinary aid;
• Nutrition – operating a kitchen that produced 4,000 meals a day
• Breast feeding substitutes – 150 mothers who could not breast feed as a result of the loss and trauma, received guidance and supply of breast milk substitutes.
• Medicine – around 300 people were treated in the clinics every day by the project`s doctors.
• Post trauma treatment – 320 kids received post trauma therapy every day for two weeks by Israeli specialists.

 

  

July 2005; Floods in Georgia (Asia)
IFA initiated a relief project to assist Georgia`s flood victims, in a coordinated effort with the Zionist-Georgian congress.
• Tones of essential food and supplies were distributed in an areas extended for 2,500 km.
• IFA`s volunteers managed to get the Chechnya border with food supplies for 250 families that were besieged there for three weeks.  An impossible mission in which the Georgian government did not succeed.
• Due to special request of the Georgian president, IFA arranged a large donation of special medicine; Copaxone for his wife.
• IFA financed chemotherapy treatment for a widow who lost her husband in the flood, left with 5 children with no one to take care of her family. 
       
September 2005; Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana 
IFA launched team of 18 members to assist the victims of the Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Search and Rescue activities - for 2 weeks, including locating and placing victims bodies left in the ruins.
• 5 doctors assisted in vaccinating and secure the rescue teams in the front line of the disaster area.
• Team of Psychologists supported the local rescue teams who were emotionally stressed.
• Logistics team assisted in evacuating buildings and items interrupting with the search and rescue work.       

 

Against all the odds, and despite discouraging messages from both Israeli and US authorities, IFA`s team had formal action permission in the disaster area from the Government Office of Homeland Security.

 

 The operation became possible thanks to IFA`s close relations with American Jewish federations, the Jewish American committee, senior figures at AIPAC, congressmen and senators who were familiar with IFA’s previous activities. Their pressure on Louisiana governor enabled the team`s entrance to a closed military area, and made their activities possible.

 

Follow to that IFA`s team also benefited from a large cooperation of most local authorities; the American Army, the local sheriff office, the district president, FEMA, Special Forces of the Firefighters Academy, and the Red Cross.

 

In November 2005; earthquake in Kashmir 
IFA launched a mission to assist the victims of the severe earthquake (7.8 Richter scale) in Kashmir, in both Indian and Pakistani sides.
• The assistant was given under complete confidentiality since the team was operating in a sensitive conflict area. They had to keep a local-Muslim appearance due to great personal risk.
• Purchasing and distributing goods:
1. Basic dry food products to thousands of families (12 members per family)
2. Blankets, coats and socks.
3. Personal clay heating kits.
4. Iron sheets to cover the temporary shelters from the heavy snow.

 

June 2006; Earthquake in Indonesia
IFA launched team of 8 members to assist the victims of 6.2 Richter scale, earthquake. 
More then 5,000 people were killed and more then 50,000 were injured. Thousands of hundreds of people left without a home and food.

 

The team assisted to the habitant of the country zone, Solo, in which 9,000 of them lived in tents next to the ruins of their homes. 80%of the population was Moslems and 20% Christians, none of them was aware to our nationality…

 

 The mission was focused in two main goals:
• Massive cooking – 5,200 meals were cooked and supplied per day.
• Post trauma treatment – 220 children between the ages of 3-12 were treated by specialist Israeli due to their lost and trauma experience.
 

 

Ms. Lousky was personally appraised, several times, by Sri Lanka’s president and by the former president of the US, Bill Clinton, who was appointed by the UN to manage the funds for the tsunami victims in south East Asia. She was invited to collaborate in other humanitarian projects in the future.