A life of giving, a legacy of love

My name is Dita Gould. I am a Holocaust survivor and I understand what it means to live in a world without a country of our own. That must never happen again. Nothing means more to me than that.

My first fundraiser was when I was just 10 years old. It might sound unusual, but I believe that learning to give at such a young age was one of the reasons I survived. I share that journey in my book, The Girl in the Lion’s Mouth.

When my husband and I bought our first home in South Caulfield and were raising our three sons, I was approached by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Blue Box collector on our street. He asked me to collect twice a year. I agreed, and often my children helped.

Today, I am proud to be recognised as the longest-serving JNF Blue Box collector in Australia – 80 years and counting.

Seventeen years after arriving in Australia, I visited Israel for the first time for my eldest son’s Bar Mitzvah, thanks to my parents. I imagined stepping off the plane, kissing the ground and feeling like my life was complete.