Page 15 - Companies Report 2018 public

Ben Yakir Youth Village

Ben Yakir Youth Village was established 73 years ago as a home for young Holocaust refugees. It
later became an agriculture yeshiva, and in the mid 70's, opened its gates to young immigrants
from USSR and later on from Ethiopia.

In the school year 2016-2017, there were 90 young men living in the village, ages 14-18, most
defined as 'youth at risk' by the Ministry of Welfare and Ministry of Education.

They come from homes that suffer from a low socio economic profile, homes where the parents
cannot function as responsible adults and many times suffer from lack of capability to provide a
permanent income. That been said, all of Ben Yakir's students have the mental and cognitive
abilities and are healthy in body and soul.

67% of Ben Yakir students are of Ethiopian origin, 78% of them were born in Ethiopia and
immigrated to Israel, sometimes leaving parents and other family members behind. 89% of the
student's households suffer from poverty and receive support, 11% of the students attended three
th
and more school before joining Ben Yakir, 8 graders included. 40% of the students smoke or drink
alcohol on a regular basis. The boys are referred to the village by the Ministry of Welfare and the
Ministry of Education, by social workers in the community and lately by the word of mouth.

The youth village has a life of its own. There is a middle school in the village and a growing high
school, a dining room, a synagogue, a therapeutic center, a clinic and dental clinic, an animal farm,
an educational green house and an administrative building.

The challenges of the 21 century, and the unique educational challenges of these times, led to the
st
opening of a high school in collaboration with the Israeli Air Force. The students study electricity
and electronics, graduate with a technical matriculation diploma and an assistant electrician
diploma and enlist in the air force as part of aircraft crew. This way, the students gain life
opportunities they would not have had otherwise.

Being an educational and therapeutic village, Ben Yakir's staff is a combination of educational
figures and therapy professionals. The boarding school staff includes an experienced manager with
a rich and full background in different roles in boarding schools, a team of young and enthusiastic
counselors, a housemother, soldiers and national service volunteers.

The therapeutic staff includes social workers, a clinical psychologist and an educational
psychologist, a nurse, an animal therapist, horseback riding therapists and other therapy personal.
The head of therapy in Ben Yakir is an experienced social worker who is in charge of the whole unit
and also has certain hours dedicated to boarding school staff.

The afternoons in Ben Yakir are full of excitement. the students enjoy a rich extracurricular program
that includes sports classes (soccer, basketball, bicycle riding, hikes, gym workouts and more); art
classes, music lessons (small organ, choir, guitar) and science activities (marine science, nature

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