‘Each child is born with its unique value. It’s up to society to ensure that his development enables him to succeed to the limits of his potential.’ Thus spoke Naftali Bennet, Minister of Education in Israel at the ground-breaking ceremony of the Master’s Program at Chemdat Hadarom. The college has proven its goals as it trains its students to reach deep inside each child and help him reach the heights of his G-d-given abilities. At Chemdat Hadorom, special needs children are very special indeed.
And that is why the college has annually loaned out its attractive, spacious campus to Ezer Mizion’s Special Children Division to use for its Summer Camp. A special child works hard to gain each new level but the long summer break can destroy much of his gains. Ezer Mizion’s devoted staff makes sure that this does not happen. Each child is assigned his own personal counselor who devotes himself 24/7 to his charge. The counselors receive no financial remuneration yet they vie with their friends to obtain the coveted position. Their salary comes in the form of an “I wuv you!” from a child who can barely speak. It comes in the form of the grins of his siblings on visiting day after having had a real summer vacation , perhaps for the first time in their lives, with a mother who was able to do the simple things with them, a bedtime story, a trip to the playground, a playdate with a friend…things that most children take for granted. It comes in the form of a marvelous of satisfaction at having made a real difference to a family dealing with a difficult situation day in and day out. The camp activities, geared especially for each child, are so terrific that many a younger sibling has been known to say, “ I wish I could go to the Ezer Mizion camp.”
Chemdat Hadorom shares the values and goals for the special child with Ezer Mizion and encourages its students to emulate the positive ambience pervading the Ezer Mizion summer experience. As the college grows and flourishes, Ezer Mizion looks forward to this productive collaboration growing and flourishing as well!
Ezer Mizion provides services to over 660,000 of Israel’s population annually in addition to its Bone Marrow Registry which saves the lives of Jewish cancer patients the world over.
