Time to remember our work in Israel
07/10/2008
Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is a traditional time of year for reflection and charitable giving. Of course, we support children in need in many countries but for those who would particularly like to help Israeli children for Yom Kippur, here is an update on what we are doing in Israel and what help is desperately needed.
In Israel, we badly need funds for two reasons. First, although the state pays a high proportion of the basic costs for the 200 children who live in our Villages, private donations pay for those special extra things which make all the different in the quality of life for a child with a difficult background. Second, we are using our base and experience with the children who live with us to run other important community programs which are detailed below.
Who are the children in our Israeli Children's Villages?
SOS Israel was founded in the 1970's by the late Dr. Kurtz. In 1981 our first village was opened in the southern city of Arad between Beersheba and the Dead Sea. In 1997 our second village was opened in the northern city of Migdal Ha'Emek, near the city of Nazareth. Today these 2 villages serve as home to over 200 children.
These children, who range in age from 6-18, are referred to us by social welfare services from all over Israel after being declared children at risk. Many are placed in our villages under court order. Some of them are orphans. Some have biological families that they see regularly. 8-10 children of varying ages live in houses with their 'Mother'. Each village contains between 8-10 such houses. In addition, we have youth facilities in each village serving up to 15 male and female young adults.
Special projects which need funding
In addition to the ongoing work in the villages and our projects there, we have a number of projects that are in progress. At present we are particularly seeking supporters for a social centre in Beit Zarzir this is an after school program designed for 20 children ages 6-12, from the Bedouin village of Beit Zarzir, which will provide tutoring, activities, therapeutic interventions where needed and a warm meal to all the children. It is a joint project with the Ministry of Social Welfare and is scheduled to open before the end of 2008. It will serve as a model for planned future centres in other villages of minority populations in Israel.
Some recent successes
We have a good track record of community projects in Israel. Recent ones include:
We have ongoing after school projects for children from the local community in each of our villages. These projects are run in coordination with the local welfare services and are designed to provide support in strengthening children and families so that the welfare authorities will not need to remove them from their homes. In Arad this project is partially funded by the IFCJ Friendship Foundation.
This past April we sent our first SOS Israel youth delegation to Poland. The delegation, which came from our village in Arad, consisted of 14 of our children aged 16-17 and three adult staff members. This trip was a monumental undertaking by the village director and his staff, involving months of preparations, both educational and logistical. It was funded solely by donations and was in jeopardy up until the last moment due to lack of funding. Since returning to Israel the 14 young members of the delegation have been changed by their experience. They have grown emotionally and found new meaning in their identity as Jews and Israelis. The consensus of the village staff was that such an undertaking was well worth the effort in light of the results. We really want to send another delegation and expand this in the future, subject to our ability to raise the needed funds to offer our youth, who otherwise would not have an opportunity for this once in a lifetime experience.
In April of this year we opened an Emergency Shelter Unit in our village in Arad, at the request of the Ministry of Social Welfare. This unit is designed to accept children within hours of receiving notice of their referral, and can serve as a temporary solution for up to 6 months, until alternative placements can be found for them. Some of these children have been accepted into the village
Relevant Countries: Israel.