- Israel

Noa Is on the Road to an "Independent Life" with the JDC-Ashalim Program

Galit, a drama therapist, lives in Masad, a hillside community near the city of Tiberias in northern Israel. During the summer months, Galit and her husband run a bed and breakfast for local and foreign tourists who are drawn by Masad's beautiful vistas and cool weather. This past June, the couple's bed and breakfast was already booked for the entire summer. When war broke out less than a month later, the threat of rocket attacks caused all of the guests to cancel, and their bed and breakfast remained empty in what was supposed to be the peak of tourist season.

Although Masad itself did not suffer any direct hits, the community was within rocket range, and two rockets fell in the neighboring Druze community of Mrar, killing two. Despite the danger, Galit and her husband decided to remain in Masad with the youngest of their three children. Their middle child, a son, was in active duty with the Israeli army, and their eldest, 21-year-old Noa, was in Nahariya, where she has spent the past two years as part of JDC-Ashalim's "Preparatory for an Independent Life" program.

Noa, who suffers from a rare neurological disorder, joined the program in the hopes that it would allow her to live an independent life. Noa's disorder, whose symptoms first appeared when she was 14, does not affect her intelligence, but has impaired her vision and slurred her speech. Noa also has difficulty walking and standing and the "Preparatory for an Independent Life" program has done much to improve her self-esteem and self-sufficiency.

This past summer, however, was quite difficult for Noa. When the rockets first fell in Nahariya, Noa rushed to a nearby bomb shelter, but her disabilities made it hard for her to reach the shelter in time. Frightened, Noa realized she would not be able to continue this way. Fortunately, JDC-Ashalim temporarily relocated Noa and the other young adults in the "Independent Life" program to central Israel, out of rocket range.

Now that the war has ended, Noa is ready to return to Nahariya and her journey towards independence, and Galit is ready for the tourists to fill her bed and breakfast again.

October 2006