Estrella Benaim z’l was born to Rachel & Jacob Benaim z’l on March 24, 1964 in Tangiers, Morocco. Eight months later, Estrella, her parents, grandparents and six of her siblings arrived in Canada. Estrella’s oldest brother, Albert, had already left Morocco for Israel, while her younger brother Stanley would be born on September 21, 1965.
 

Estrella was a happy little girl. She was a protective older sister and always willing to lend a helping hand. One afternoon, while in Grade 1 (the only grade that Estrella would attend), Estrella came home from school excited about Parents’ Night; a sentiment Estrella’s mother didn’t share. As a new immigrant, Estrella’s mother, Rachel was dreading Parents’ Night and explained to her youngest daughter that she didn’t want to embarrass her because she couldn’t speak English. Estrella reassured her mother that she could never embarrass her and only regarded her in the highest esteem. When Rachel told the story decades later, She recounted it as if it were only a few days ago. She beamed with pride and explained how Estrella put her at ease with her determination to act as an interpreter for her mother and teacher. She regarded it as one of her fondest memories.
 

The summer following Grade 1, Estrella’s entrepreneurial spirit was in full force. The days she wasn’t selling lemonade with her younger brother Stan, she’d help her older brother, Judah, with his paper route. Sitting atop the batch of newspapers ready for delivery, in a wagon attached to her brother’s bicycle, they began to make their way down the street. But, before even reaching their first stop, tragedy struck. On July 14, 1971, the little girl was pronounced dead twenty minutes after arriving at North Western Hospital. She was 7 years old.

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Estrella’s z’l memory continues to live on. The foundation that bears her name has undertaken various projects in Canada & Israel. Its focus has been helping disadvantaged Jewish youth for decades.