Byline: Shula Klinger and Cynthia Ramsay

Help for BGU students

Left to right, Senator Linda Frum, actor Mayim Bialik and BGU president Danny Chamovitz participated in the virtual Big Bang event, hosted by Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on Sept. 9. (photo by David Berson)

On Sept. 9, the Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev hosted its first national virtual gathering. The Big Bang Event to “save the class of COVID-19” was an urgent move to support the university’s 20,000 students.

With many students having lost their jobs in the sudden economic slowdown, they are unable to fund their tuition or even their basic needs. Rather than forfeiting a generation of leaders to financial hardship, BGU launched a student assistance program in July, with the goal of raising $6 million for 6,000 individuals.

While it is Israel’s newest university, BGU is a leader in academic research and technological development. With three campuses, it is credited as a trailblazer in both the humanities and the sciences – nanotechnology, robotics, cybersecurity, Israel studies, Jewish thought, neuroscience, medicine, business and management – addressing some of the world’s biggest problems, such as drought and hunger. The university’s reach is local as well as international, serving the immediate community in the Negev, including both the immigrant and indigenous Bedouin populations.

BGU was founded in 1969, following the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. Ben-Gurion sought to establish a university which would act as a “source of moral inspiration and courage, rousing people to a sense of mission: noble, creative and fruitful.” He believed that the Negev Desert would be critical to the future of the new country – the desert covers 60% of the country, and Ben-Gurion saw it becoming an economic, academic, scientific and cultural hub.

The Big Bang Event featured guest speaker Mayim Bialik, well-known for her roles in the 1990s show Blossom and, more recently, in her award-winning role as Amy Farrah Fowler in Big Bang Theory. In addition to acting, Bialik earned a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2007; her dissertation examined the role of oxytocin and vasopressin in obsessive-compulsive disorder in adolescents with Prader-Willi syndrome. A mother of two, Bialik is also an accomplished writer and musician.

Quirky, vivacious and searingly intelligent in her remarks, watching her speak at the Big Bang Event brought to mind the Yiddish proverb, “The heart is small and it embraces the whole wide world.” Bialik spoke from the heart, telling the audience about her own family story and the genesis of her Jewish identity. She spoke about her heritage, how she raised her children and how she carries her Jewish identity into her professional life in a fireside chat-style with Canadian Senator Linda Frum.

Also speaking at the event was BGU president Danny Chamovitz, who addressed the audience from his home in Israel at what would have been 2:30 a.m. his time. Chamovitz was in isolation, having recently returned from Europe, and, following the event, he did indeed test positive for coronavirus, but has since made a full recovery.

Chamovitz described his office’s emergency response to the pandemic. Members of the university community were invited to submit proposals and, as a result, more than 70 initiatives are in progress, including the development of tests for COVID-19 that drastically reduce turnaround times.

“Across the country, more than 380 households purchased tickets and more than 800 people watched the program,” said David Berson, CABGU regional executive director, in a recent email interview. “We have raised over $1.3 million with 50% of that being raised locally. In our region, 83 households purchased tickets and more than 200 people watched the program.”

In addition to raising money, he said, “The event was a great success motivating many new people to support CABGU. It has set the bar, the gold standard, for how to properly execute a national virtual event. Regarding the campaign itself, the rate of unemployment in Israel is 50% for the under-34 age bracket. By the opening of the academic year on Oct. 18, more than 5,000 students had applied for support from this student assistance fund. Where we had been fearful that enrolment would drop because of the financial impact of the pandemic, it turns out that enrolment for undergrad studies increased by 32%. The funds raised have been vital in creating accessibility for so many students hit hard by this unprecedented situation.”

While the Big Bang audience was scattered from coast to coast, a warm ambience was created locally, with hand-delivered baskets of sweet and savoury delicacies: quiches and bourekas, as well as exquisitely decorated handmade chocolates, from Café FortyOne; and BGU wine tumblers and a bottle of red wine.

The local business sponsor was Instafund and Instafund’s Adam Korbin, who was the Metro Vancouver chair of the event, thanked Bialik at the end of the program.

“We were very fortunate to have dozens of local sponsors for the event,” said Berson. “Details of the sponsors can be found on our website, bengurion.ca.”

Regional board chair Si Brown “was thrilled with the generous response from and participation of our local community,” Berson added. “Since reestablishing CABGU in Metro Vancouver seven years ago, it has been gratifying for me to watch how our community has slowly and surely begun to embrace this young and dynamic Israeli university in the Negev.”

Looking younger, naturally

Father and son team, Lou and Darryl Segal, of Herbal Glo. (photo from Darryl Segal)

It’s difficult enough to start and build one successful business, let alone two. But Lou Segal and his family have done just that.

Segal began his career as a pharmacist working in Cape Town, South Africa. Having received his formal training in Pretoria, South Africa, he had also started blending natural products to help his customers with their ailments. He was one of a few pharmacists who specialized in pharmacognosy, the study of how plants or other natural sources can be used for medicinal purposes.

The course of his career took a dramatic change when he took a safari vacation in Mozambique. It was during this trip that he noticed an interesting phenomenon. “The people of one particular tribe had incredibly thick, full hair and younger looking skin as compared to the people of the other tribes,” said Segal.

With help from the chief of the tribe, Segal learned that, for certain ceremonies, “these particular people would gather plants, roots, flowers, leaves and the extracts from the barks of trees and mix these all into a paste form. Then they would apply this mixture to their face and heads.”

Segal took some of the mixture back to Cape Town, where he added various percentages of it to his own products; scalp formulas, shampoos and conditioners, as well as to his anti-aging skin care products. With encouraging feedback – his customers reported less hair loss, thicker hair growth and that they thought they looked younger – the products did very well.

As a teenager, Segal’s son, Darryl, became interested in his father’s business, in how natural ingredients can help people overcome all kinds of hair and skin care issues. But, before he could become more involved in the business, the Segal family decided to leave South Africa, given the political situation.

Lou, his wife Friedah and their adult children Darryl and Janine headed to Vancouver, where their other children, Basil and Ramona, had moved earlier. The family couldn’t take much with them, so they arrived in Vancouver in 1979 with little money – but they had all their formulations.

“It is never easy when you build a life and business in one country, then realize that you have to give that all up, move to a new country and start all over again,” Darryl Segal told the Independent. But his father was confident that they could start again and achieve success. And they did.

Based on their earlier work, the father and son team were able to rebuild the family business in Canada. Also a pharmacist, Darryl Segal first had to re-qualify at the University of British Columbia (having come from another country) and then spent seven years at Shoppers Drug Mart in Kerrisdale; he also researched and added to his father’s formulations. In 1986, the Segals established Herbal Glo, making products with “natural essential nutrients” that “contain none of the harmful chemicals like parabens, formaldehydes and phthalates,” said Darryl Segal.

It was a rough start, admitted the younger Segal, as nobody knew them in Vancouver. But he and his father helped “boost each other even when things got rough,” he said.

At first, the Segals relied on a manufacturer to make their hair-care products. Six years ago, they opened their own factory in Richmond. “We expand as we need and as space becomes available,” said Darryl Segal. Herbal Glo products are manufactured, bottled and labeled here, before being sold both locally and worldwide.

The Segals have three brands: Herbal Glo, which can be found in health food stores; Segals Solutions, available in beauty salons; and Feels like a Facelift, which is sold in drugstores, like London Drugs. They have also written a book, called Hair for Life, which is on its fifth edition.

In addition to their own endeavours, Darryl Segal enjoys helping others create their own brands. Herbal Glo offers a “one-stop shop” that helps people choose and manufacture formulations, as well as design logos and handle packaging. “We persevered in the fiercely competitive world of the cosmetic industry. Now I am able to give back by helping others,” he said.

Herbal Glo, which has a staff of 10, recently earned the company its third National Nutrition Award. In addition to not using harmful chemicals in their products, the Segals do not test their products on animals, their products do not contain any animal ingredients, they are gluten-free and they contain organic ingredients whenever possible.

Almost 40 years after coming to Canada, the Segals are still working together. Lou Segal, who is 92, said he still enjoys coming to work, and offers advice where he can. Said Darryl Segal of his father, “He is still passionate about helping people all over the world to see and feel results with his formulations.”

A third generation of the Segal family has begun working with the company. Darryl Segal’s son, Daniel, completed a qualification in cosmetic compounding from University of California, Los Angeles, in April of last year.

“I’ve always enjoyed working in my father’s factory,” said Daniel Segal, who has shown his passion for organic, natural ingredients – such as jojoba oil and shea butter – with the development of a new blend of moisturizer.

And so Herbal Glo continues to grow.

Shula Klinger is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at shulaklinger.com.