The Oakland couple will be honored for their humanitarian efforts at the Jerusalem Award dinner of the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.
The Weinrebs’ next trip will constitute both a completion and an extension of the work they began earlier this year. Under the auspices of the International Foundation for Dermatology, the Weinrebs volunteered their services at the foundation’s Regional Dermatology Training Center in Moshi, Tanzania, one of the poorest countries in the world.
With only six dermatologists in all of Tanzania, the RDTC trains assistant medical officers who work as paraprofessionals throughout eastern, central and southern Africa.
“The best part was having the chance to transmit what I have learned in 40 years to students in a very deprived area and knowing that eventually these students will transmit the information to others,” said Weinreb, a pilot who has been organizing medical expeditions in rural Mexico as one of the “Flying Doctors” for the past several years.
Capitalizing on her computer knowledge, Ilene Weinreb taught the dermatology department’s librarian how to use a computer and access the Internet, and perform other key technological operations. Most important to her, however, was helping to institute a water purification system.
“All the water in the country is polluted except for the small medical center,” she said.
A local leader in the Jewish and civic communities, Ilene credits her Jewish upbringing for her tenacity in tackling this monumental problem. “When you grow up Jewish, there is no such thing as an impossible job. I want to go back and continue working on clean water.”
An enriching aspect of the Weinrebs’ African experience was the opportunity to interact with Christian missionaries. RDTC was established in conjunction with the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center, run almost exclusively by Lutherans.
“We became the Jewish source,” said Weinreb, who serves as chair of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay’s Endowment Fund. “It felt good to be around the missionaries. We discussed many ecumenical topics. We did not hide our Jewishness, in fact we talked about it almost every day.”
When Passover came around, the Weinrebs invited all their Christian friends to the seder. “Except for a friend visiting from home, we were the only Jews,” said Ilene Weinreb.
Marvin Weinreb, now retired from a 35-year private practice, said he always takes jobs other people do not want.
“I feel that what we are here for — our primary purpose in life — is to do what we can for other people. I consider what we did in Africa an act of tikkun olam [repairing the world].This is practicing Judaism, helping your fellow man in a part of the world where they desperately need help.”
When he and his wife return from their next visit to Africa, Weinreb will attend the foundation’s advisory committee meeting and both will celebrate the dedication of the RDTC’s new clinic building.
He hopes to encourage other dermatologists to volunteer in Africa. “This experience is now a part of us,” he said. “We hope to translate it to others so that they will go and do the same. It does something to you; it changes you forever.”