[Mdabs] fw: [nabs-l] trip to Israel for youth who are both Jewish and blind
Chris Nusbaum
dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Sun Mar 18 19:36:51 UTC 2012
FYI:
Chris Nusbaum
---- Original Message ------
From: Arielle Silverman <arielle71 at gmail.com
Subject: [nabs-l] Trip to Israel for Youth who are Both Jewish
and Blind
Date sent: Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:05:41 -0600
Please forward this to anyone you know who might be interested.
Israel on the Horizon Summer Experience in Israel for Blind
and Visually Impaired Youth Summer 2012 Ofek Liyladenu Israel
National Association of Parents of Blind and Visually Impaired
Children, in conjunction with the Jewish Institute for the Blind
in Jerusalem, are planning the first special Israel summer tour
program for blind and visually impaired youth, ages 15 to 21.
The pilot trip will be for twelve days, combining educational
touring throughout the country with outdoor activities and social
programs with Israeli youth. The 2012 summer program has reached
out to include visually impaired youth from North America,
England and Australia. The Israel experience has always been
seen as an essential part of fostering Jewish identity and
creating a bond between Jews around the world. Today, over
300,000 youth, 18 to 26 years old have participated in the Taglit
Birthright program, bringing youth from all over the world to
Israel for a 10 day educational experience. Research reflects
that this experience is powerful in influencing Jewish identity,
a connection to Israel, and solidarity with the Jewish people.
Where Israel once received high ratings as inaccessible to people
with disabilities, today the Ministry of Tourism has made great
efforts to make tourism more accessible to those with
disabilities and tourist companies have sprung up offering
accessibe tourism for all ages. Potential highlights of the
trip include: Jerusalems Old and New cities, including the
Western Wall and Jerusalems unique markets Climbing Masada
and swimming in the Dead Sea Visit to Bedouin tent and
discussion of minorities in Israel Neot Kedomim, the biblical
landscape reserve Sports including goal ball, tandem biking,
horseback riding and swimming Meetings with individuals
and organizations involved in issues of disability rights in
Israel, including Members of Knesset Visit to Israel Defense
Force base for a briefing and army experience. We hope youll
join us and tell your friends about the program. For more
information, and pre-registration contact: Bob Fenton:
bfenton at actcom.co.il
Ofek Liyladenu www.ofek-liyladenu.org.il Jewish Institute for
the Blind
******************
Ofek Liyladenu Israel National Association of Parents of Blind
and Visually Impaired Children
Spring 2012
Ofek Liyladenu Israel National Association of Parents of Blind
and Visually Impaired Children is an organization that advocates
for the needs of the 3,000 blind and visually impaired children
in Israel. Established in 1997 by Guila Seidel, whose daughter
Nellie was born blind, we provide a friendly supportive network
for families, offer updated information, and initiate and
implement innovative projects to maximize the integration of our
children into mainstream society. In addition to building a warm
caring community for families and children, our wide range of
activities benefit 20,000 visually impaired and blind adults
throughout the country and promote awareness of the needs and
rights of the blind among the general public in Israel. The
organization is operated by volunteers and two part-time staff
members.
Main Activities of Ofek Liyladenu (Our Childrens Horizon)
include:
Advocacy: Promoting solutions to the needs of our children and
others with disabilities through advocacy in government and the
Knesset. We hold individual meeting with Members of Knesset,
Knesset committees, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of
Welfare and the National Insurance Institute. This year, in
conjunction with Bzchut Israel Human Rights Center for People
with Disabilities, we petitioned the High Court demanding that
all educational materials, including matriculation exams, be made
accessible in Braille, large print and audio format.
Public Education and Awareness: Seeing It Differently is a
project where blind youth lead an experiential workshop for
non-visually impaired audiences through which they can convey the
everyday challenges of being blind. In addition, the chairperson
of Ofek and parent volunteers devote time to media appearances
and meet regularly with medical students, parents from
kindergartens for the visually impaired, teachers and other
groups. Our annual conference is a platform for sharing new
ideas and knowledge with parents and professionals and serves to
promote awareness among the general public.
Supporting Parents: Parent volunteers provide practical advice,
support and encouragement to other parents of blind children,
thus building a warm, supportive network for families. In
addition, parent groups, a hotline, e-letter, bi-annual magazine
and a website are all part of our wide support network, providing
up-to-date information, referrals and advice. Family gatherings
held throughout the year give parents and siblings a safe caring
environment in which to meet other families that cope with
similar challenges.
Special Programs: Work on the Horizon, a summer work program
for high school youth, empowers and prepares youth for
integration into the workforce and educates employers to the
potential of the visually impaired. Our Electronic Library (the
first in Israel) provides online content including newspapers,
magazines and books, which can be read in text to voice format or
Braille. Special workshops for adolescent girls deal with the
specific challenges of their age group. Musical Dreams offers
subsidized music lessons to children and youth throughout the
country; home tutoring provides extra educational support. The
Fund for Special Equipment subsidizes essential educational and
medical equipment.
Ofek Liyladenu is a family of families, providing every parent
with the support and tools needed to raise independent children
that can integrate into the mainstream of society. We insure
that no one is left alone to cope with the complex challenges of
raising a visually impaired child in Israeli society.
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