Children with impaired cognitive and motor functions spent four days touring Israel and enjoying nature with KKL-JNF, thanks to a generous donation from JNF - KKL Scotland.
The excitement in the air was palpable as the seventy-five participating children woke up at the
KKL-JNF Field and Forest Center, located in the heart of the
Yatir Forest in the Negev. This was the second day of their four-day Et La’asot summer camp, and they were ready for some more fun-filled adventure.
Et La’asot (Hebrew for ‘time to do’) is an organisation that provides services to children and youth aged 6-21with all levels of cognitive and motor impairments.
Rabbi
Yosef Munk, father to a child with Cerebral Palsy, established the organisation in 2006 to provide support for challenged children and their families.
Zohara Goldstein, Volunteer Activities coordinator at Et La’asot, explained that the NGO operates exclusively on the basis of volunteers and donations. “We have a whole roster of activities ranging from weekly meetings, which provide the children with a consistent welcoming environment and recreational activities; to “Big Brother” programs, trips and summer camps. I must emphasise that our activities bring relief not only to the participants but to their families too. These children require constant care and while they are in our custody their parents can rest or give more attention to their siblings.”
Accompanying the group were some 100 Et La’asot volunteers who gave the children round the clock attention and took care of all their needs. Et La’asot volunteer
Chamutal Malichi said that while she had been volunteering at the weekly get-togethers for special-needs kids for over a year, this was her first summer camp with them.
“I am amazed at the quality of the activities provided here,” she said. “These are not excursions that one usually gets to take part in. Yesterday we accompanied the kids on a jeep tour, and then we went sailing at HaYarkon Park. You couldn’t believe how excited they were. Later today, we are going to the Kiftzubah Amusement Park. What other group gets to those places? And we have only just started. It’s amazing to see how radiant the children are. These trips do them wonders. It is the best medicine imaginable.”
KKL-JNF guide Naomi Goshen said that she felt privileged to lead the Et La’asot team at the summer camp. “The spirit, dedication and energy of the young volunteers is heart-warming,” she said. “There is nothing that will stop them from providing real and meaningful assistance to the children they take care of.”
With the help of the ever-present Et La’asot volunteers, Goshen divided the young participants into three groups for the mornings’ activities. One group gathered around a large colourful mat to take part in a fun quiz on places and events in Israel. KKL-JNF guide Uriel Goldstein treated the second group to a jaw-dropping lesson on how to recognise dangerous wild animals in nature, and the third group played a game with a long rope designed to enhance the participants’ movement and coordination skills.
After the morning sessions, participant Odel presented KKL-JNF’s Naomi Goshen with an Et La’asot Certificate of Appreciation for the kind hospitality they experienced at the KKL-JNF Yatir Field and Forest Center.
Et La’asot Summer Camp Leader Yair Stern, who spent the morning organising their three tour busses with the gear needed for the day’s excursion, said that they were very grateful for the assistance received from KKL-JNF.
“Without KKL-JNF and the donation from
JNF KKL Scotland, all this would not have happened, at least not for four whole days and not on the same level. On behalf of Et La’asot and all our participants and volunteers, I want to say ‘thank you!’.”