ICEJ staff recently visited two special-needs daycare centers in the Zevulun region of northern Israel. The centers are located close to each other in neighboring kibbutzim. Our team visited both to dedicate a donated bomb shelter, enabling the Usha center to remain open during times of crisis. During the visit, the staff saw firsthand the dedicated work being done to support people with cognitive and physical disabilities and autism.
Behind this work is a team that includes managers, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, speech therapists, behavioral specialists, and other professionals. Together, they create structured daily routines and programs that help participants develop skills, build confidence, and experience greater independence.
At the first center, located in Kibbutz Kfar HaMaccabi, the manager, Leigh, who is also a social worker, showed our team around the facility where they witnessed various workshop activities in progress like preparing clay for making beautifully painted ceramic items, learning embroidery to create bags and wall-hangings, making special toys filled with a sand-bag intended to provide comfort and a sense of security for children with autism and a wood-work studio where special flower boxes and other items are made.
These activities offer opportunities to learn practical skills, encourage creativity, and produce items others can enjoy, with some prepared for sale in a small on-site shop. The team enjoyed purchasing beautiful pottery items in the shop, and along the way, also visited the protective shelter donated through the generosity of our German friends.
Leigh explained that this center is an occupational facility for those over 21 years old with cognitive, autistic, or physical disabilities. They have 120 clients who attend the center daily between 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., and they operate in a friendly, open environment with no fences on the property.
After a short drive to the second center, located in Kibbutz Usha, the ICEJ leadership and the daycare center leadership sat down to enjoy a delicious spread of food and refreshments. They shared the ICEJ’s work and how thousands of Christians around the world support Israel, while also learning more about the center’s facilities and care, and hearing about the wider network of facilities across Israel that serves both Jewish and Arab clients with special needs.
The visit also included the dedication of a large bomb shelter for this facility. ICEJ Vice President for AID and Aliyah Nicole Yoder, together with ICEJ-Switzerland national director Dominique-Pierre Walter, placed two dedication plaques at the entrance. Operation Lifeshield Director Shmuel Bowman explained how this is a special shelter for schools, approved by the Israeli Ministry of Education.
“Today we have had the privilege of dedicating this beautiful shelter for a facility that cares for people with special needs, and we are so excited and so grateful to both our friends from Switzerland and from Canada who have made this special day possible,” shared Yoder.
The ceremony offered a meaningful expression of love and solidarity with a community that depends on both specialized care and protection during times of crisis. The new Usha shelter will protect the daycare center’s clients and staff while also serving nearby residents, since many older homes on the kibbutz do not have their own protective spaces.
This Kibbutz Usha daycare center serves around 70 people each day through specialized programs tailored to individual needs. One of the social workers, Tal, described how participants are progressing from using only spoons to eat with to learning how to use knives and forks properly. “What might seem like a small step is, for these participants, an important part of developing life skills and independence,” she shared.
The ICEJ is dedicated to strengthening communities, protecting vulnerable Israelis, and bringing practical Christian love to those who need it. Your support of our Israel in Crisis fund assists this essential work.
