Like many Jewish families escaping hardship and uncertainty in Eastern Europe in the early 1900s, Isaac and Birtha Kanichowsky left Lithuania searching for a better life and greater opportunity.
But wherever Jews travelled, they never truly travelled alone.
They carried with them ancient traditions, prayers, songs, stories and a connection to a homeland they had remembered for thousands of years.
Every day, Jews across the world recited the words:
“Shema Yisrael, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai Echad.”
“Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”
Whether in Lithuania, Namibia, Rhodesia, South Africa or Australia, those words connected Jewish families back to the same identity, the same people and the same history.
A mezuzah on the doorpost.
Shabbat candles on Friday night.
Hebrew prayers.
Jewish songs sung around the table.
Stories from the Torah passed from generation to generation.
Stories of:
- Abraham journeying through the land of Canaan,
- Jacob becoming Israel,
- Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt,
- the journey to the Promised Land,
- King David and Jerusalem,
- the building and destruction of the Holy Temples,
- exile, survival and return.
For thousands of years, Jews scattered across the world still prayed facing Jerusalem and spoke of Israel daily in their prayers.
And so the Kanichowsky family story became one small chapter within a much larger Jewish story stretching across continents and centuries.
Isaac was the first to leave Lithuania.
Drawn by stories of opportunity in Southern Africa, he travelled south to what was then known as South West Africa — modern-day Namibia — eventually settling in Swakopmund, a coastal town shaped by German colonial influence, ocean trade and pioneering settlers.
Like many immigrants of that era, Isaac arrived with little more than courage, determination and hope.
Over time, he established himself as a merchant and businessman. Once he had built a stable foundation, he sent for his wife Birtha and their two daughters, Tilly and Edie, to join him in Africa.
Together they built a new life far from Lithuania.
Their family grew with the birth of four sons:
Percy, Sam, Ken and Dave.
Dave would later become my father.
The Jewish communities across Southern Africa were small but deeply connected. Jewish families built businesses, pharmacies, shops, schools and community organisations while maintaining their traditions and identity far from Europe.
Isaac became a successful merchant and businessman and was associated with another prominent Jewish businessman of the time, Sam Cohen, whose name remains part of Namibian history today.
Family stories spoke of sporting festivals and community events held in those years. One story that stayed with us was that decades later, a customer walked into my father’s pharmacy in Rhodesia, recognised the Kanichowsky name, and proudly showed him a gold coin his father had won in a race many years earlier — personally presented by Isaac himself.
It was a reminder of how deeply connected communities once were, and how memories and reputations survive across generations.
My father Dave often spoke about his childhood in Swakopmund. One story he remembered vividly was receiving a bicycle for his 12th birthday — something very special at the time. Only weeks later, it was stolen, and from then on he walked to school every day.
Simple stories like that carried the reality of those years:
hard work, modest living, resilience and gratitude.
As Isaac later became ill, the family relocated south to Muizenberg near Cape Town, where my father attended high school.
Eventually Dave married Naomi, and together they moved north to Bulawayo, then part of Rhodesia.
There they built a life and raised a family.
My father owned Abercorn Pharmacy in Bulawayo, a typical pharmacy in what was then a vibrant colonial African city with a large and active Jewish community numbering in the thousands. Jewish life revolved around synagogues, youth groups, community gatherings, Jewish schools, Zionist movements and Friday night dinners.
Wherever Jews lived, the traditions travelled with them.
Even thousands of kilometres from Jerusalem:
the prayers remained the same,
the Torah remained the same,
the songs remained the same,
and the hope remained the same.
Dave and Naomi had three children:
Sandra, Brett and me — Ivan.
But Africa was changing.
Following the political transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe, many families began emigrating amid growing uncertainty about the future. In 1977, our family moved from Bulawayo to Durban.
Then, in 1988, we emigrated once again — this time to Sydney, where another chapter of the family story began.
Today, only a small handful of Jews remain in Bulawayo. Much of that once-thriving Jewish community dispersed across the world — to South Africa, Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, America and beyond.
Yet despite the migrations, the continents and the generations, the common thread remained.
The same prayers.
The same traditions.
The same stories.
The same connection to Israel and the Jewish people.
Perhaps that is why, generations later, I found myself building something centred around connection, relationships and community.
Through Referron, the vision has been to help people reconnect in a world that increasingly feels disconnected — to create warmer introductions, trusted networks, stronger communities and meaningful relationships.
In many ways, the idea behind Referron reflects the same values that helped Jewish communities survive and thrive for thousands of years:
connection,
trust,
community,
contribution,
continuity,
and helping one another succeed.
The village economy.
The power of relationships.
The understanding that people grow stronger together.
From Lithuania…
to Namibia…
to Rhodesia…
to South Africa…
to Australia.
A story not only of one family,
but of the Jewish journey itself:
survival,
adaptation,
community,
faith,
memory,
and hope carried across generations.
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