The Emunah Neve Landy Residential Children's Village - Director: Yosefa Eklar
For this newsletter, Yosefa chose to tell the story of 13 year-old Dan. Thanks to intensive efforts by the staff and friends of Neve Landy, Dan has been able to overcome multiple tragedies. This past March, he had a wonderful Bar Mitzvah celebration that the staff planned especially for him.

Dan came to Neve Landy as a fourth grader after loosing his father and suffering other hardships. A month later, on Chol- Hamoed Succot, while still adjusting to life in the Home, his younger brother was killed by a Kassam rocket in the yard of his home in Sderot. Dan returned to Neve Landy , in shock and emotionally wounded. With time and love and therapy from the whole staff, Dan has learned to live with his pain and manage it, and now functions well in school and in the Home.

In Neve Landy, the children are so fragile that every Bar Mitzvah is celebrated individually, unlike the group Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations that take place in the other Homes. Here too, thanks to donations from caring people, every child is made to feel special. Dan was outfitted with new clothes and shoes, Tefillin and a Tallit. Preparations were made in advance, so that when the Neve Landy staff brought Dan and his family to the Kotel in Jerusalem, they were met with singing and dancing. Dan was very moved to be given his first Aliyah at the Kotel, and very happy to see that Neve Landy had invited his extended family, including his brother and cousins. After a breakfast, also arranged by the staff, the family, together with Dan and his friends from the Home, enjoyed the ‘Jerusalem Time Elevator’ with its light and sound show and moving chairs which tells the history of Jerusalem. The Bar Mitzvah boy and the entire group drove south to a restaurant in Kiryat Gat where a festive lunch was waiting. Dan read a Bar Mitzvah speech, which included special words to his mother and brother. He was very emotional that his family was celebrating with him, and was very grateful to the staff of the Home for making him such an unforgettable Bar Mitzvah.

Achuzat Sara Residential Home for Children - Director: Shmuel Ron

All year, the 12 and 13 year olds, together with the other children of the Home, worked on creative projects relating to cleaning and protecting the environment. The theme of this year's gala Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebration was a verse from Kohelet Raba: (The warning of the Almighty to Adam): "All that I have created, I created for you, and if you ruin it, there is no one to fix it." Articles in the Israeli press described how the children together with the staff of Emunah - Achuzat Sara made frequent trips to the local Bnei Brak shuk. There they collected the throw-away centers of the handles from different colored plastic bags that they later used to create a colorful backdrop of trees and flowers for the main stage. Other containers were also gathered to be used on the night of the party to decorate the tables and the trees in the gardens. As in past years, Shmuel hiked 100 kilometers with the Bar and Bat mitzvah children on Shvil Yisrael, the Israel Trail, and they collected empty bottles and litter along the entire route. As religious Jews caring for the environment and for the land of Israel is an important value that the Achuzat Sara children have internalized.

One Child's story

Shmuel Ron was happy to relate the following story, which he feels shows how last year's Bar Mitzvah hike and the ongoing love and support he continues to receive in Achuzat Sara, has helped a 13 year-old boy gain the self-confidence needed to allow him to connect to a new family outside the Home.

At the age of 6, Yossi was placed in Achuzat Sara. His intellectually impaired father is unable to function as a parent and his mother is emotionally ill and out of touch with reality, and refusing medication which could have helped her. Yossi's older brother is mentally ill and dangerous and often physically abuses his parents. Because of this, Yosssi and his 2 younger brothers- who are in foster homes- are never allowed to visit their parents at their home. Yossi also suffers from serious medical issues including epilepsy, eye problems, depression and low self-esteem. Over the years, Yossi has benefited from the many therapies he received in Achuzat Sara. He is very attached to the adult staff in the Home and is especially close to the house mother. He is extremely intelligent, a very good student and skilled with computers.

In spite of many attempts to encourage him to connect to a host family for Shabbat and Chagim, Yossi has always insisted on remaining in Achuzat Sara, where he felt safe. The difficult hike on the Israel Trail proved to be a turning point. At first he was very fearful of participating due to his medical problems. With much encouragement and support, and to his own amazement, Yossi walked the entire route.

This past spring, for the first time ever, Yossi agreed to venture out of the Home and spend the first day of Pesach with a new host family he had met. This family, former residents of Gush Katif, now living in Amatzia, with 7 children of their own, opened their home to Yossi and welcomed him warmly. Yossi responded to their love and, to the delight of the staff of Achuzat Sara, he decided to actually spend the entire Pesach holiday with his host family. The devoted staff of Achuzat Sara now believes that with their continued support, this wonderful, bright child will continue to spread his wings and overcome the difficulties that life had dealt him.

Bet Elazraki Residential Home for Children - Director: Yehuda Kohn

"Hakarat Hatov," acknowledging the good that is done for you, was the theme of this year's beautiful Bar/Bat mitzvah celebration in the Emunah - Bet Elazraki Children's Home in Netanya. In keeping with the theme, married graduates of Bet Elazraki and their own families walked to the stage together with this year's young celebrants. The audience was very moved by the personal stories of these successful graduates, which showed the children how far they can hope to go.

Leading up to this event, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah age children spent two fabulous days in Jerusalem, all thanks to generous donors.
The children literally experienced Jerusalem from the ground up. They began with a jeep trip along the Burma Road which represented "Jerusalem – the land." Once in Jerusalem, they had an informative meeting with David Hadari, the CEO of Emunah and Vice-Mayor of Jerusalem, in the City Council Chambers. The Mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Nir Barkat, surprised and honored the children by joining them and leading them in a mock city council meeting. The mayor and David escorted the group to the roof of City Hall with its magnificent view where they learned about "Jerusalem from Above". The children saw "Jerusalem at Night" during a nighttime tour of the Old City as they walked to the Kotel. The next morning the children returned to the Kotel for the Shcharit prayers and again connected to "Jerusalem the Sacred." Their tour of the Kotel Tunnels represented "Jerusalem from Below." An altogether unforgettable experience!

Emunah Neve Michael Children's Village - Director: David Friedman

The Bar and Bat Mitzvah celebration in the Neve Michael Children's Home in Pardes Hana revolved around the positive theme of the Breslaver Chassidim: "Always be happy and believe in a good future".

David Friedman is very proud of the connection between graduates of Neve Michael and children who now reside in the Home. Like in all the residential homes, there is always a group of children who remain in the Home even on Holidays and vacation time, as they either have no family or are not allowed to go home. This past Pesach, 15 children from the ages of 8 to 18 were invited to the Ramat David Air Force Base near Nazareth, by one of the senior commanders of the base who grew up in Neve Michael.

Another graduate who visited David Friedman at Neve Michael had graduated university with a degree in economics and is now serving as an officer in the army, responsible for the budget within the office of a top commander.

Emunah Sara Herzog Children's Center in Afula - Director: Shlomo Kessel

In a previous newsletter, Shlomo had told us about a family with 6 children that had made Aliyah from the Ukraine. The mother became ill with cancer and the family stopped functioning. Five of the children were placed in the Afula – Emunah Home. The staff worked very hard to help the children adjust and deal with their anger and worry.

Recently one of the sisters, 12 year old Anna celebrated her Bat Mitzvah in the Home together with the other Afula-Emunah children her age. While she is doing well and is happy that most of her siblings have also adjusted well to the Home, her major concern is her mother's health. Anna's wish was for her mother to be strong enough, after her latest chemo treatment, to attend her Bat Mitzvah celebration. Well, Anna got her wish. Her mother and father were both there to see their daughter star in the play that the children put on. The mother wore the chemo bag under her dress and had to leave right after the play, but she was a part of her daughter's Bat Mitzvah. Anna told the staff that her greatest Bat Mitzvah gift would be her mother telling her that the cancer was cured. With God's help, may we hear good news.

The Bar and Bat Mitzvah Party was held in the Home. The children were honored by the presence of the Minister for Social Welfare, Yitzchak Herzog, who spoke fondly of his late grandmother, Rabbanit Sarah Herzog, for whom the facility is named. Other important visitors were MK Aflallo, the Chief Rabbi of Afula, the Mayor of Afula, as well as Chairperson Liora Minka, C.E.O David Hadari, Vice-Chairperson Rena Wasserman and other members of Emunah.

During the first part of the evening the visitors enjoyed a number of different activities: watching a puppet show performed by the children (as part of their "puppet therapy program"), jumping on trampolines, and viewing art work produced by the children. After a buffet meal a short movie was shown, with each child telling us of their dreams. Their Bar Mitzvah year program activities were depicted in the movie, including meetings with notable Israeli songwriters, poets and authors. The Emunotes song and dance group also performed to the delight of the audience. Everyone agreed it was a wonderful evening!