Neta's+Project

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=IFACES 2011 = =﻿ = = ﻿SHALVA = =Rationale=

For my project I have chosen to interview Sharon Brand. Sharon Brand is an amazing woman who will never miss an opportunity to give of herself and help others. She is friendly, very modest about all the many ways she helps people and has a good heart. The reason I have chosen to interview her is because of all the wonderful programs that she has started and participated in. One of the great things that she has done is to bring a program called “Shalva” to the Gush community, which is an afternoon program for children with disabilities. Another thing that she helped establish is a free loan society, “Gemach”. She also puts a lot of effort into an afternoon program in Neve Chana which teaches religion in a fun and more interesting way and which in not mandatory. Another reason why I picked to interview Sharon Brand is because I hope to become a better citizen by learning from her good deeds. I believe that the little things people do for our country is what actually builds our country and makes it into a better place.

=Sharon Brands profile=

Most people in this world don’t have the time and energy to volunteer to help others. People just get caught up in everyday life and don’t think about what they can do for other people they are just busy getting on with their lives. Sharon Brand lives by the quote I mentioned above. Not only does she work and take care of her family; she finds the time and the energy to help many others and enjoys every minute she spends on her many different voluntary projects. Sharon has been behind many different projects that have been set up in the Gush Etzion area. One of them is a program called “Shalva”, which is an afternoon program for kids with special needs. This program makes life much easier for families by taking care of the kids and freeing up the family to take care of other responsibilities. When Sharon set up “Shalva” she was very active in it and was there most of the time. Today there are lots of volunteers that help run this very successful program and Sharon is free to work on and start up other things. She still goes to “Shalva” once or twice a week to teach art (something she loves to do), but she also has time to do other things which means she can help more people. Sharon runs a free loan society which she opened in Gush Etzion. She also takes part in Neveh Chanah’s “Etrog” program because she feels strongly about girls connecting to our religion, by making the activities fun and not mandatory. This way she only deals with girls who want to be there which a situation where everyone can gain from is. She chose Neveh Chana because the Ulpana was willing to put time effort and money into a program that they were confident girls would join. Sharon was right. Today, Etrog is a popular weekly activity that bring many girls together for religious enrichment.
 * //It's so hard when I have to, and so easy when I want to. ~Annie Gottlier//**

But don’t worry Sharon is not done yet. She always has new ideas and is currently working to find money and permission, and people to help raise more projects. (I can’t tell you what kinds of programs since Sharon has asked me not to talk about things before they are up and running.) Sharon’s children have also been involved in her activities. She hopes that they will go in her footsteps and continue what she does. Sharon’s greatest pleasure will be when her children will come to her and ask for help to work on projects that they have created. Sharon does a lot of art she enjoys working on art projects that are with mosaic pieces. In the year 2008 a second grade girl from Alon Shvut passed away from cancer. Sharon created a mosaic sign which says //“Hagan Shel Rotem”// and is hanging on a wall in the early grades building of the Alon Shvut regional school. The second picture that I know about is hanging in Neveh Chana school building in memory of Rachel Nechemia who was a former employee of Neveh Chana. Sharon’s mosaic picture has flowers because Rachel sold flowers on Fridays at Neveh Chana. Working with mosaics is a hobby whose benefits will be noticed when entering Sharon’s house. Sharon’s message to encourage children; if you have a good idea goes for it and work hard to make it happen. As Sharon feels: “**life goes on so we must make the best of each and every moment!”**

=**Background Research**=


 * “The uniqueness is that Shalva does not just focus on the difficulties of the child, with his learning and developmental disabilities, but on how to empower parents to cope better” (Malki Samuels)**

Shalva was started by Kalman and Malki Samuels in May of 1990 but the Samuel’s story began 13 years earlier when their 11 month old child Yossi became blind, deaf, and hyperactive after receiving a standard DPT shot. The Samuels were determined to raise Yossi at home, yet the huge strain of caring for a child with so many tough handicaps was often difficult to handle on their own. Despite the challenges, the Samuels were successful in making their son a part of the family – building their own support systems and finding a special teacher who was able to teach Yossi to communicate. Strengthened by their experiences, Malki and Kalman made a commitment to help other families in similar situations. They created Shalva to provide a continuous flow of resources and extra activities needed by families in similar situations. Their experiences taught them that parents should not raise such children on their own. By creating a supportive and therapeutic environment (Shalva) both families and children could benefit by the services offered to them. “I’m a parent and I know exactly what they’re going through, so I understand that it’s not only children,” said Malki Samuels. “It’s the whole unit.” Shalva is built upon a foundation of love, hope, faith and respect for all people. These basic principles are seen and felt in every Shalva program. The Hebrew letters shin, lamed, vav, heh which spell out the name "Shalva" stand for shichrur l'mishpacha
 * Research Question: What is Shalva and how does it change people’s lives?**

v'layeled hamugbal: "liberating the family and the special needs child." In Hebrew, the word shalva means "peace of mind." Shalva provides services to more than 500 people with special needs, including infants, children, adolescents and young adults by creating a variety of tailor made programs and round-the-clock therapies, seven days a week. Shalva stays with the child and his/her family from the time they are born to adulthood. Programs are individualized and designed so that each participant reaches his/her full potential. By placing an emphasis on social interaction, the special needs child can better become part of the larger community. All Shalva's programs are planned to treat the child while at the same time give the family the tools to be strong. In fact, parent participation is a major part of the whole early intervention concept behind the “Me & My Mommy program”. Services that range from counseling to sibling discussion groups to crisis intervention, help families keep in touch with their children's progress and any adjustments being made every step of the way. Along with the practical skills that parents gain during their Shalva years are the precious hours of rest that allow each family to collect new energy as they enjoy normal family life hours without the guilt that is often found when a family is dividing time between their special needs and non-challenged children. This way a family has a well-deserved “break” from the difficulties of raising a special needs child while knowing that the child is in good hands and enjoying their time away from the family. The need to learn how to be a different kind of mother when faced with a special needs child is a difficult task, and Shalva is there to help whether this child is your first or your last. The Me & My Mommy program teaches a mother how to initiate their child’s development and not just wait for things to happen naturally. At the same time it provides time for Moms to have coffee and social contact with other mothers in similar positions. An example of these ideas is brought in the article “Peace of Mind” written by Shoshana Kordove when Tzuriel is quoted as saying: “When a mother has a problem, it’s easier to speak to mothers who have the same problems. At the beginning it was

very strange because I’m not used to receiving support but over time you also become a supporter – you give support and you get support.”

Shalva’s focus on helping a child while dealing with the family is a unique source of support that other programs do not provide. They provide respite care so that the parents can have a break. Such breaks make the difficulties of raising a special needs child more bearable and let people keep their children in a nurturing home environment instead of sending them out to live in institutions. An anonymous 34 year old Jerusalem resident backs up this strong statement. “The days were gray. He played in the yard in the sand and dirt.” Now he spends 4 hours a day at Shalva, where he has great activities and even stays over one Shabbat a month giving the family a well-deserved rest. “There’s nothing like it.” Shalva has two branches in the country one in Jerusalem and one in Gush Etzion. Both offer full services to both families and children. All services offered are without pay so that any family can take part. Only 15% of their budget is covered by the government which means that Shalva depends on donations in order to function. Shalva is not just an average organization it is one that helps many people enjoy an otherwise difficult life situation. Through their very generous help and support families are working together and enjoying a better quality of life.

=Personal Connection=



For my personal connection I decided to make a collage of pictures that show how the people of Israel gather together for special causes. So let me explain what is happening in each picture: Left side:  1. A picture of IDF soldiers – the people who defend our country.  2. People who are gathering together to demand the release of Jonathan Pollard  3. The picture shows people dancing on the streets after it was announced that the State of Israel would be.  4. This picture is from a rally asking demanding that the government work for the release of Gilad Shalit Right side:  1. The funeral for the 5 members of the Fogel family who were murdered in Itamar.  2. A group of “Palmach” soldiers who defended the country before the state was created in 1948.  3. A group of kids from the “Bnei Akiva” youth organization that also do volunteer work.  4. “The Human Chain” an organized protest around the country where people joined hands on the sides of major highways in Israel to protest the giving up of “Gush Katif”. In the middle is the map of Israel with the word home written on it. In all the pictures surrounding the map we see Israelis gathering together for the purpose of helping others. That is the face of Israel that makes me proud to call it home. I hope that every person in Israel will be willing to go out and help others no matter how big or small job is. Just the idea of people’s willingness and their wanting to come out whether it is to help others or support a cause is what I consider an amazing quality of my country/home.

= Reflection =

Working on my project opened my eyes to a new world. I always knew there were good people and this has helped me understand that there are **so many** good people working hard to make this country a better place. I realized that there is more to life than what is good for me, and that being a giving person has gotten us so far here in Israel. I always knew that Israel is my home and never thought about why. Doing this project made me look around and realize what is so special about the country we live in and why I am proud to call it my home. I also got a chance to meet and talk with Sharon Brand who always has the energy to give to others, and never gets tired of doing that. I found her to be an inspiration to me and a good role model. I admire her endless energy and desire to help wherever it is needed. We are all one nation no matter what your religious or political views are. Pulling together for a common cause it what makes us a united and very special nation.

=Works Cited=

** Atmosphere ** – An information based webpage September2003 “ Seeds of Peace” – Shalva – a unique Israeli center committed to helping special needs children and their families to find peace of mind ** Israel21 ** c – An Israel Focus webpage “Peace of mind for special needs families” By Shoshana Kordova July 31, 2005 ** Pictures: ** [] [|http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jewishagency.org/NR/rdonlyres/14B88EFC-8EA1-4B40-A858-FD7E0EB39E16/69420/open0902ba.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.jewishagency.org/JewishAgency/Templates/Lists/Simple.aspx%3FNRMODE%3DPublished%26NRORIGINALURL%3] [] [|http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.edu-negev.gov.il/bs/ofekgd/מפת%2520ארץ%2520ישראל.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.edu-negev.gov.il/bs/ofekgd/%25D7%2590%25D7%2599%25D7%259B%25D7%2595] [|http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.haredim.co.il/Data/Images/ jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.haredim.co.il/ViewArticle.aspx%3FcatID%3D2%26itmID%3D2661&usg=__ZmFvPl3mr7dJZsjKp6fTezZsfyc=&h=450] [] ** Shalva ** - Shalva webpage ** Sharon Brand ** – An interview conducted at Neve Chana – January 2011