Jan 31, 2018

Thank you for feeding hungry childrenBy: Colin Wingfield

C4i distributes hot, nourishing lunches to poverty-stricken children.

Each day, hot meals are delivered to these needy children – satisfying their hunger, preserving their health, and restoring their smiles. Thus, these underprivileged children are guaranteed at least one nutritious meal a day to safeguard their continued health and advancement.

Since the program was launched, children that received hot lunches have seen a remarkable improvement in their academic and overall performance. A well-fed child is not only happier and more cooperative than a child fighting off hunger pains, but is better able to absorb and retain knowledge necessary for a successful education.

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Jan 31, 2018

A Warm AtmosphereBy: Colin Wingfield

A warm atmosphere

The atmosphere at the Meir Panim free restaurants is relaxed and warm. Over time, camaraderie develops and the restaurants become a "second home” for many of the patrons. Troubled diners open up to the caring volunteers who are always ready to listen, encourage, and assist in any way possible.

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Jan 31, 2018

Dina, age 10By: Colin Wingfield

Dina’s family made their way to Israel from Ethiopia in 2005. Shortly after, they settled in Jaffa in a government-sponsored absorption center. Dina is the youngest of nine children, with very elderly parents. Dina found it extremely difficult to adapt to her new environment and received no help or encouragement from her family. Her antagonistic and derisive attitude towards her school work and other extra-curricular activities stemmed from deep feelings of insecurity and inferiority. Yet the Jaffa Institute counselors at the Moadoniot/ After School Educational Enrichment Program would not give up on her.

Although Dina is a 4th grade student, at the beginning of the school year she could read no more than a few short sentences and her vocabulary was extremely limited. She also lacked basic mathematic comprehension in multiplication tables, addition, and subtraction. Her knowledge was far below the 4th grade standards and her inexperience with independent studying kept her behind.

Once Dina began receiving daily private counseling she drastically improved and inched closer to the level of her classmates. The Moadonit staff worked closely with Dina, utilizing games and other creative outlets to develop independent study habits and strengthen her mathematical skills.

Dina has come a long way since the beginning of this process. She’s constantly taking books out from the school library and reading with enthusiasm. She is attentive in class, participates in discussions, and completes her homework and school assignments. Dina has become a joyful part of the class at the Moadonit and is simultaneously becoming a symbol of progress to her traditional cultural environment.

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Jan 31, 2018

Rachel, age 15By: Colin Wingfield

Rachel’s mother is a drug-addict. Her three older siblings were born addicted to narcotics and Rachel recognizes that she is "lucky” that she was born healthy. Until the age of five, Rachel was raised by two aunts and moved around frequently. At six years old she was relocated to an ultra-Orthodox orphanage/boarding school. While Rachel progressed with her studies, the ultra-Orthodox environment proved trying. Though Rachel’s mother is Jewish, her father is an Arab. At the age of 14, Rachel started rebelling in school. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, she turned to the streets.

At Beit Ruth Girls’ Hostel, Rachel is part of a community that accepts her for who she is and helps her to achieve her goals. Rachel receives therapy, counseling, academic tutoring and life skills training. She is shown that she can have a future of promise, love and security.

Rachel desperately longs to be reunited with a "mother” and takes to the streets to search for her drug-addicted birthmother during every home visit. Nonetheless, when she returns to Beit Ruth after her visits she says: "it feels good to be back home”. Rachel is bright, charming, and a gifted singer. When asked about goals for the future she is quick to recognize the mistakes of her parents and exclaims: "My dream is for me to raise my own children”.

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Jan 31, 2018

Yuri, age 15By: Colin Wingfield

Many of the staff can still remember the day Yuri first appeared at the Jaffa Institute. He stood in the doorway, nervous and tentative, trying to work up the courage to enter the building.

Yuri and his family were new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, struggling to adapt and survive in their new Jaffa neighborhood. Adjustment to their new country was proving to be difficult and frustrating. Yuri’s father still had not found a job. Yuri’s mother was struggling to feed her family on the small amount of government assistance they were receiving due to their new immigrant status. The family was economically disadvantaged and isolated by barriers of language and culture.

Yuri had heard that there was a place in Jaffa where he could go to learn Hebrew, get help with his school homework, meet other immigrant children, make new friends and, perhaps most importantly, enjoy a nutritious hot lunch free of charge. Yuri had been told that he could even receive free dental care at this friendly place.

Yuri began to attend the Moadoniot/ After School Enrichment Program, which offered a wide array of educational enrichment and recreational programs to Jaffa’s disadvantaged children. Venturing timidly into the Computer Center, Yuri soon discovered that he possessed a raw talent for computers. Yuri received emotional support and encouragement from the Institute staff — particularly from Danny Ravid, who saw a lot of potential in the shy young boy.

Perhaps that is why Danny was not really surprised when Yuri asked him a year later if he could become a counselor for children using the Computer Center. Danny happily agreed, and Yuri became a counselor, a coach, and a teacher to the younger children – children a lot like Yuri was when he first arrived at the Institute.

As Yuri improved his technical skills in computers he also developed his self confidence and self-esteem, along with fine leadership skills. Today, Yuri is a responsible youth leader in the Moadonit, and is pursuing advanced computer studies in high school.

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Jan 31, 2018

MOTTI, age 9By: Colin Wingfield

Motti was only five years-old when his father died. Yet despite his young age, Motti was keenly aware of his family’s increasing hardship and poverty during the months after his father’s death. Motti’s father had been a taxi driver who worked long hours to provide his family with a good income and a comfortable, if modest life. Motti’s mother had been a housewife, staying at home to care for Motti and his seven siblings. With the death of Motti’s father, his mother — unskilled and untrained — began working as a cleaner in Tel Aviv’s Central Bus Station. Motti’s family had to move from their comfortable flat in Tel Aviv to a much smaller apartment in poverty-stricken Jaffa.

The family’s move to a rundown apartment building in a high crime neighborhood was not the worst hardship they had to face. As time went on and Motti’s mother continued to work long hours for a very low wage, food became scarce for Motti and his family. After rent and utilities, there was no longer enough money to adequately feed the family. A year after the death of Motti’s father, the family was surviving on one meal daily: pita bread with chocolate spread.

Motti’s mother was a proud woman and reluctant to accept charity. Yet Motti’s school counselor referred him to the Jaffa Institute’s Moadoniot/ After School Activity Program, where Motti began to receive a daily hot meal. After several months of monitoring by the Tel Aviv Jaffa Department of Welfare, Motti’s mother began to receive income supplements that eased the burden of meeting monthly expenses. The family was also enrolled into the Jaffa Institute’s Food Distribution Program. The family immediately began to receive huge food parcels, twice a month, containing staples such as rice, flour and pasta, as well as canned goods, breakfast cereals, holiday-specific goods and even treats for the children, such as peanut butter and jam.

No longer suffering from the pangs of hunger, the children are healthier, happier and performing better in school. Motti’s mother, still working in a low paying job, intends to enroll in the Institute’s Welfare to Well Being workplace training program for local mothers.

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Thank you for feeding hungry childrenBy: Colin Wingfield

A Warm AtmosphereBy: Colin Wingfield

A warm atmosphere

Dina, age 10By: Colin Wingfield

Rachel, age 15By: Colin Wingfield

Yuri, age 15By: Colin Wingfield

MOTTI, age 9By: Colin Wingfield

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