«Giving a Future to all Children in Israel»: True to the credo of Kiriat Yearim, the relief organization supports together with the Trust of Programs of Early Childhood, Family and Community Education also children and their mothers originating from the Arab-Israeli population of Israel since 1969.
Programs in Ramle/Lod and in the Negev
Kiriat Yearim supports educational programs in Ramle/Lod, in particular the Nanni Center, an interfaith educational institution and meeting place, opened in 2011, as well as in the Negev. Together with the Trust, we currently support the following educational programs:
- Mother-to-Mother program to strengthen the family: The Mother-to-Mother program looks back on a long and successful history. Time and again, it has been shown that the approximately 100 participating mothers can apply what they have learnt directly at home and thus contribute to a more relaxed situation in the family.
- Interfaith dialog group for young adults: The aim is to intensify the dialog between Muslim and Christian teenagers.
- Preparation courses for the move to the first grade: This program is aimed at mothers and their children before moving from pre-school to primary school. We are currently leading four groups of 50 children from Ramle and Lod, as well as a total of 100 children in the Negev, and are helping those children to acquire the necessary physical and emotional prerequisites for their upcoming school entrance.
- Empowerment program for young women: The aim of the empowerment program for young women is to improve the quality of life of young women and teenage girls and their integration into the community. Parents are involved so that better family relationships can be established and early marriages prevented.
- Homework assistance and afternoon activities: In Ramle (e. g. in the Nanni Center) and Lod we offer various courses and leisure activities for approximately 150 school children from the immediate neighborhood. On the one hand, the children receive support with their homework and on the other hand, targeted activities promote their social competence.
Farid Abu Gosh: A collaboration that has existed since 1969
Farid Abu Gosh is the President of the Trust and at the same time the contact person for Kiriat Yearim on site. His task is to implement the objectives of the Trust through personnel development as well as the planning, implementation and evaluation of high-quality programs. He calls himself the "gatekeeper of a democratic organizational culture based on social justice".
In an interview Farid Abu Gosh takes stock of the cooperation with Kiriat Yearim: «Forty years have passed, much water has flowed under the bridge, a lot has happened, but the friendship and professional relationship between me, the Trust and Kiriat Yearim have remained stable and successful – not only thanks to the funds we have received to improve the quality of life of Arab children and families in Israel, but also thanks to the friends of Kiriat Yearim who are at my side with advice and action in difficult times.”»
