The Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, was a tragedy. People were killed and abducted, thousands of injured are hospitalized around the Gaza Strip, and traumatized and displaced people are trying to rebuild their lives and process their experiences. The Israeli aid organization ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran offers valuable support through a special resilience program.
By Dina Rahamim, ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran
The trauma runs deep – and not just in adults, but also in children and young people. There is no one in Israel who has not been affected by the war in some way. Children with and without disabilities from the area near Gaza are suffering equally from the emotional trauma of what they have experienced and the current events.
For this reason, ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran, a rehabilitation village located just 20 kilometers (12 miles) as the crow flies from the Gaza Strip, launched the "Merhavim Lanefesh" project together with other organizations working in the field of trauma recovery: an emotion-focused therapy program for children and adolescents aged three to 15 from the western Negev region and the area surrounding the Gaza Strip. The program aims to strengthen the children's resilience and equip them with the tools to cope with their experiences.
Since 2006, ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran has been the place where people from the Negev region come to receive first-class rehabilitation services. It was primarily intended for children and adults with severe multiple disabilities – a loving and warm home where they can live almost like people without disabilities. They attend the on-site school, participate in workshop programs, and enjoy activities such as swimming at the beach or excursions into nature. Regardless of their socioeconomic background, they are welcomed with open arms at ADI as part of the ADI family and supported in their development.
It quickly became clear, however, that ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran had the potential for more, and it is now realizing this potential: inclusive kindergarten classes, employment and training of people with disabilities and their integration into the open job market, and outpatient and inpatient rehabilitation treatments are just some of the important areas in which ADI is active. The Harvey and Gloria Kaylie Rehabilitation Medical Center is one of ADI's latest major achievements. Opened in 2022 in the rehabilitation village, the rehabilitation hospital offers people in southern Israel the long-awaited opportunity to receive treatment close to home, instead of always having to travel to the center or even to the north of the country.
Valuable experience
Thanks to its many years of experience in the field of rehabilitation, the ADI team is ideally trained to work with children who have experienced trauma – an expertise that is currently desperately needed. Since October 7th and the ongoing war, ADI has been providing assistance wherever possible. Most trauma support services exclude children and adults with disabilities. This makes the involvement of ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran in this project all the more important, as they possess the expertise and resources to help both people with and without disabilities.
The “Merhavim Lanefesh” program in numbers:
- 42 groups, 330 children and parents
- Treatment duration: 15 sessions per group
- personal consultation by clinical psychologists and social workers
- Several treatment areas: cooking therapy, animal therapy (including dog and horse therapy), hydrotherapy, surf therapy and sports therapy
- 30 National Service volunteers to support the staff
- Family counselling before and after treatment sessions
The program is already showing its positive effects: Two young girls with autism were so traumatized by the events of October 7th and afterward that they only spoke to people they already knew. They shut down completely around strangers. When their parents learned about the resilience program, they were overjoyed that their little ones would be participating in the group therapy program. After just a few sessions of animal-assisted therapy, the girls began talking to the rabbits. And in the following session, they actually spoke to the therapist. This was progress everyone had hoped for but hadn't expected to happen so quickly. This success story confirms how important and effective ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran's program is.
ADI Negev-Nahalat Eran collaborates with local resilience centers to offer its existing internal structures and therapy services, thus providing rapid solutions for the people of southern Israel. However, the program could not operate in its current format without the support of partners such as Christians Standing with Israel (CSI) – therefore, we sincerely thank CSI and all donors for their generosity and friendship!
