A Message from our Village chairwoman- Einat Reich

Creating a possibility for equal opportunities is not a cliché for me. In the years when my daughters grew up and attended middle school and high school, I was first exposed to girls and boys who chose or were forced to leave home and live in boarding school conditions at the Hadassah Youth Village. Some of them were considered at-risk youth and came from a  background of deprivation and educational gaps.

When I first arrived in the village, about fifteen years ago, I noticed the areas in which the village had been lacking. There was no learning reinforcement center for the afternoon hours, there was no music room, and the living rooms of the dormitories were only sparsley furnished. Together with many partners we founded the village’s learning center and the music center,and we provided  our students with trips abroad for educational training and more.

Two big and very significant projects for me and for the entire village were the establishment of the robotics workshop and the establishment of the surfing center.

About four years ago, students from the mechatronics major approached me with a request to participate in the prestigious FIRST international robotics competition. Financing the establishment of the robotics workshop and their participation in the competition required a great effort, but the amazing achievements of the students proved how worthwhile it was. Already in the first year, the group broke the glass ceiling and reached surprising achievements. They managed to become one of the 12 best teams in the country (along with the Reali School in Haifa, Hadrim in Hod Hasharon, Ironi High School in Tel Aviv and the American School in Kfar Shmariahu). Since then, for four years in a row, with the help of wonderful volunteer mentors and professional guides, the team members maintain a high level and their position entitles the team to participate in the world competition in the USA. They also achieved impressive results there.

Today, graduates of the program enlist in the IDF with a sought-after profession and integrate optimally into Israeli society later in their career.

The surfing center – Neurim is located on a spectacular cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, despite this, the students were forbidden to go down to the beach. With the help of partners, we renovated an old stable and turned it into a surfing center and committed to funding a teacher who would manage the center for three years. Today, six years later, the surfing center is run as a social business.  The sea and surfing have become very significant for many students. The center is a gem of non-formal education, with a variety of activities, including surfing, yoga and physical fitness lessons, certification courses for surfing instruction (a certificate that allows summer work in demand for students), engaging in attractive and contemporary sports, focusing on sports discipline that sometimes includes waking up at dawn, training before studies and entering the water even on cold winter days. The students are partners in the maintenance of the center and the activity produces a lot of joy, along with an improvement in academic achievements and behavior.

I am proud to say that in the last three years, the percentage of students eligible for a high school diploma has increased from thirty-four percent to seventy percent! Upon completion of the twelfth grade or after postponing the service and continuing studies at Hadassah Neurim Youth College for an engineering degree, our graduates integrate, among other things, into the development units of the Intelligence Corps, the Air Force, and the tank development unit.

As the chairwoman of the village, my vision is to continue to  lead Hadassah Neurim to be a quality and prosperous youth village, adapted to the 21st century. A safe and loving home for young people who choose to come to us, to a framework that will provide an experience of protection and belonging, and that will allow development, the fulfillment of personal potential and optimal integration into Israeli society and with the continued trajectory for a successful and fulfilling future.

The vocational education, which has been the hallmark of the youth village since its inception, is adapted to the current era and the exposure to the world of employment contributes to the students’ level of education. The continued cultivation of the advanced agricultural space and the sports center in cooperation with the residents of Emek Hefer are just another part of all our plans for the future.

And when all of these are deployed in front of the Mediterranean Sea, this is a sure recipe for success.

Einat Reich

Chairwoman of the Hadassah Neurim Youth Village

050-5621001