Who we are ?
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.
Who are our children
Our children, who range in age from 6-23, 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. Most have biological families that they see regularly. Those who do not, are linked by the village staff with host families so that they too will experience a home setting on holidays, weekends and other occasions, beyond their home in the village.
What do our villages look like
Our villages are similar to all other SOS Villages in that 8-10 children of varying ages live in houses with their 'Mother'. Each village contains between 8-13 such houses. In addition, we have youth facilities in each village serving up to 15 male and female adolescents. Both villages are located in residential areas of their cities with grass and trees along with expansive play areas, but are contained in a protected and safe environment on a full facility campus.
What about schools
Our children study in community schools. If needed, they are placed in schools further away from the village and transported back and forth daily. We provide the children with all their school needs. We maintain close contact with the schools and provide on campus private tutoring for all the children, so that they will have all the tools necessary to maximize their studies.
Who is our staff
As in all SOS Villages we have 'mothers', 'aunts', administrative and technical support staff and therapeutic staff. Each of our villages has a social work staff that serve as managers and coordinators for the implementation of the individual child's care plan. Various therapeutic activities are provided on and off campus, for example, therapeutic horseback riding, therapeutic animal care, music therapy, psychodrama and psychiatric intervention is available when needed. Medical attention is provided through local community health fund infirmaries. In addition, each village has a dedicated cadre of post high school volunteers who come for a year to live and work in the village, before continuing on to the Israeli army or other activities. These volunteers serve as role models and "big brothers and sisters" to our children and youth, in addition to their invaluable efforts in many other areas of the village life. Alongside the therapeutic activities we have free time activities such as sports, music and photography classes.
What is our budget
Our annual budget in 2008 was approximately 18 Million New Shekels. As our services and numbers of children grow, so do our costs. Our budget for 2009 reached 19 Million Shekels and our budget for 2010 is about 20 Million NIS. We receive most of our village running costs per child from government subsidies. The rest of our operational costs come from SOS funds. The entire cost of the national office, which consists of 4 workers including the National Director, is from SOS funds. Developmental budgets are mostly dependent on generous donors and foundations.
Aside from our villages, what are some of our existing special projects
- We have ongoing after school projects for children from the local community in the village in Migdal HaEmek. This project is conducted in coordination with the local welfare services and is designed to provide support in strengthening children and families so that the welfare authorities will not need to remove them from their homes.
- The Social Center in Qa'abiya is an after school program designed for 20 children ages 6-12, from the Bedouin village of Qa'abiya, which provides 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 was opened in September 2009. It will serve as a model for planned future centers in other villages of minority populations in Israel. The reactions we have received from the families involved have been so positive that we are looking into ways to expand our activities there. We recently received a generous donation from friends in the UK of 1,000 Pounds Sterling. This project is partially funded by the local council and partially by SOS Israel.
- This past March, we sent our second 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 recognized by the Ministry of Justice's Estate Fund to receive an in kind grant for up to 50% of the expenses of the trip. Since returning to Israel the 14 young members of the delegation have been processing their experience. We are confident that just as our first delegation (from April 2008) benefited greatly from the experience, these youth will grow from it as well. We look forward to sending future delegations and enlarging them in the future, subject to our ability to raise the needed funds to offer our youth, who otherwise would not have such a once in a lifetime experience.
- The Emergency Shelter Unit in our village in Arad, run in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Welfare is designed to accept children within hours of receiving notice of their referral, and serves as a temporary solution for up to 6 months, until alternative placements can be found for them. To date about one third of the close to 40 children placed in the unit, have been accepted into the village on a permanent basis.
- A Graduates' Home in Arad has been rented, renovated and refurbished to provide a home for post high school graduates from this village, who are in need of temporary living quarters during or after their army or national service. We have begun to receive funding from SOS International to offer our services to graduates up until the age of 23. This project is being carried out with the assistance of an important international philanthropic fund. It is expected that within a year or two this facility will be totally full and we will have to expand into another site.
- A Graduates' Home in Migdal Ha'Emek has been added through the addition of a floor to an already existent building. Like its brother in the south it will provide a continued home for our post high school graduates from this village, who are in need of temporary living quarters during or after their army or national service. We recently received permission from SOS International to offer our services up until the age of 23. The building project which has been completed was realized with a generous grant from an Israeli philanthropic foundation.
What are our future large development projects
In addition to the ongoing work in the villages and the previously mentioned projects there, we have a number of projects that are in the advanced planning stage:
- A Day Hostel for Bedouin children in the southern municipality of Abu Basma. This project is scheduled to start offering services to 35 children during the spring of 2010. Designed as a first step in the array of services planned in this municipality, it will offer a before and after school positive environment for Bedouin children of the area to help them grow and develop into achieving adults who can contribute positively to Israeli society. This project which will be fully funded by the Ministry of Social Welfare will serve as a new model in the field of child care in this needy community.
- An Intensive Social After school center for Bedouin children in the Abu Basma municipality. Designed for 30 children, this center, which will be divided up between two separate needy sites, will add another layer to the services being offered in this community. The programming content will be similar to that of the center in Qa'abiya.
- A Family Strengthening Program in Qa'abiya designed to reach another 50 children and their families, providing concrete services to help alleviate their daily crisis and allow their children to continue their schooling unimpeded and so stay within the care of their biological families.
- A Family Strengthening Program in Abu Basma designed to reach another 50 children and their families, providing concrete services to help alleviate their daily crisis and allow their children to continue their schooling unimpeded and so stay within the care of their biological families.
- A joint vocational training program for appropriate adolescents in our villages with surrounding factories and businesses run by nearby kibbutzim (collectives).
Why we need your help
Over the last 10 years the social welfare state in Israel has been slowly dismantled. The results are that, according to government statistics, more than a quarter of the children in Israel are currently living under the poverty level. The resultant increase in domestic violence and abuse has created an even greater need to offer alternative settings as well as community based projects for the children and the youth of Israel. New needs are constantly arising and SOS Israel is in the forefront of answering those needs. With your help, for a specific project or for ongoing support, we will continue and increase the number of children we can reach and rescue from their difficult living circumstances.
Come be a partner in the important work being done by SOS Israel.