Children-at-Risk Have a Normal Summer

The month of August was a time of fun for some 15,000 children at-risk and children with special needs who attended UJC/IEC "Keep the Children Safe" day camps.

The nationwide summer camp programs, part of an IEC summer-camp partnership between JDC, UJC and JAFI that enabled more than 100,000 children to enjoy secure, fun summer programs, targeted low-income children in terror-affected areas of the country and communities on the confrontation line. JDC took the lead in bringing summer fun to some of Israel's most vulnerable children and youth – adolescent girls-at-risk, children with cancer and cerebral palsy, and physically and mentally-challenged children.

14-year-old Sigalit, whose father is an alcoholic, is one of these participants. "Sigalit lives under the constant threat of an abusive father, yet regularly seeks his approval," explains Hagit, Director of the Efshar (Hebrew for "Possible") Center, which provides individual and family counseling and intensive rehabilitative treatment to alcoholics and gamblers. "She has essentially become the caregiver for her four young siblings."

The IEC summer activities provided Sigalit and her peers with some of the childhood experiences they have missed. "Most of these children never participated in a summer program," says Hagit. "Many never have been to a pool or to a theme park. This was something special for them all." Sigalit was one of 310 children of gamblers and alcoholics who participated in the weeklong day camp that included pita making, arts and crafts and even a festive lunch with their parents.

Summer activities were as varied as the challenges faced by the children who participated in them. One group of 50 at-risk girls from around the country learned Salsa dancing and martial arts. Another group of children with cerebral palsy and cancer visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Others visited theme parks and pools, and enjoyed arts and crafts activities and sports.

"Sigalit was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She rarely looked up from the ground," describes Hagit. "We had some success through a theater workshop we carried out for adolescent children of addicts. But this week, as Sigalit has participated in summer activities, I have seen a brighter child," explains Hagit. "She is letting herself be a girl again."

While one week alone cannot change a lifetime of difficulty and a challenging future ahead, it has provided a ray of light to be enjoyed in the present. And even as summer draws to a close, the hard work carried out by programs such as Efshar will continue without a break.

"These kids have had their childhood taken from them," shares Hagit. "These activities are crucial to our efforts to help these children gain it back."