and you too can be part of it

There are 10,000 children in Israel between the ages of 5 and 18 who have been transferred by court order to 90 safe homes, foster families or residential group homes supervised by the Ministry of Social Welfare spread all over our country. Of these children 1,500 have no family backing of any kind. Born innocent with infinite potential, these children have had to be taken from their homes through no fault of their own, because their parents are totally incapable of caring for them due to insurmountable problems - be they financial, imprisonment, drug abuse, psychological impairment, cruelty - the list is sad and long.

Yeladim-Fair Chance for Children is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 to enable these children to have a more normal quality of life by offering them opportunities not covered by the authorities. 'Yeladim' offers them educational, rehabilitative and therapeutic programs. Eighty per cent of their programs are funded by donations from Israel and the Diaspora, and 20% by financing from the budgets of Welfare and Education.

One of the innovative and unique programs that caught my attention is that of “Host Families”. Suitable volunteer families host a child every second weekend and for part of the holidays, sharing family time with them to enable these children to re-establish trust in the adult world. I had the privilege of meeting a family in the Kfar Saba area involved in this host family program, and was awed by its obvious success.

Alumim in Kfar Saba is one of the boarding school facilities described above and 160 children aged between 5 and 18 live there. Children younger than 10 are accommodated in two houses adjoining the large property. Their care is in a home situation with house-parents and two counselors in each unit housing 10-13 of the younger age group. They graduate to the boarding school at age 10. The children from Alumim go to different schools in Kfar Saba. They come from different backgrounds and cultures. There are Ethiopians, Israelis, Russians - a truly mixed group. Because of the numbers involved there are very concise rules and regulations for the different age groups. Because of budget restrictions there are limited resources for the children to enjoy. The contribution of volunteers is invaluable in offering a connection to life outside of the boarding school. There is a big brother or big sister program requiring a weekly commitment, where assistance with homework, or purely companionship and friendship is offered.

I met up with Jenny, a host parent. She is a qualified and experienced teacher who took time off from her profession to train as a phototherapist and went to Alumim to do her 600 hours of practical training for this course. At the end of her training she remained interested in and concerned about the children, and together with her husband and four children, agreed to host a 14 year-old whom we will call Ben, when the opportunity was offered her. The program entails taking 'your' child home every second weekend and at holiday times and introducing him to your children as part of the family - welcoming the child into a normal family situation, which is a new experience for the great majority of these children. Taking on this responsibility requires careful consultation with the social worker attached to the home and interviewing the entire host family, in order to make the match with a suitable child. Jenny refers to Ben as a gift that was given to her family and has immeasurably enriched their lives. Ben has been exposed to different cultures through family visits abroad. He has explored Israel and gotten to see Israeli landmarks with this family, as financial restrictions do not usually allow for excursions from these institutions. Ben has their unquestioned love, loyalty and support, and it has given him self-confidence and allowed him to mature visibly. He is thriving at school - his results have improved beyond recognition. He has found a place for himself where he is appreciated and feels safe, important and at home.

I had the opportunity to meet Ben - an affectionate, friendly and sensitive young man who regards Jenny and her husband as his parents, and her children as his siblings. He sees the family as having been given to him by Hashem, and loves them all unreservedly. Ben is now at high school and growing up with the ambition to go to the army and to train to be independent. This union has created a bond that will undoubtedly last into the future. His host family, in a very real sense, has provided Ben with a promise of a secure future. It is obvious that this particular situation has surpassed all expectations and is quite unique, but it is also obvious that a genuine and honest participation in this program is going to generate visible results and is unlimited in its scope.

The opportunity to be host parents is one that is available to any Hebrew-speaking family which is willing to share their love and their time, to give security to an innocent child so in need of a normal home to be part of to develop his own potential fully. It is a chance for anyone who loves children and is in a position to offer stability to one deprived of the value of so much that we and our children take for granted. It is not always easy – the children come with many individual problems - but the psychological rewards and benefits for everyone concerned are immeasurable. The professional staffs at the schools have said that a successful host parent partnership is better than two years of therapy.  It is an investment for the future – for the child, for the family, and ultimately for the community and the country so that the present problems are not perpetuated.

There are many ways to show support for this superb effort to give every child a fair chance whether by donations of money or time, by companionship or counselling, by identifying with the fine work that is done by this organization.

The “Fair Chance for Children” organization can be reached by phone: 03 647 5075 or email: yeladim@yeladim.org.il.