YEMIN ORDE, Israel (Press Release)– Embers still smolder in Israel’s Carmel Mountains. Yemin Orde Youth Village, home to more than 400 at-risk immigrant youth ages 8-19, sustained considerable damage as a result of the worst fire in Israel’s history. Forty percent of the buildings are in ashes. The library is lost. The fire devastated the educational community’s children’s housing and destroyed homes of the staff that teaches and cares for them. For children raised in orphanages in the former Soviet Union or in compounds in Addis Abbaba, evacuation from the village revisited the earlier trauma and displacement of their young lives.
The evacuation was orderly, but fraught with emotion. One child, whose parents died in a house fire in their home in the FSU, ran into a counselor’s apartment to hide under a desk. Everyone left with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Given the Mt. Carmel location of the Village, fire threats are not uncommon at Yemin Orde and no one expected this one to be any different since the fire was miles away.
“Our children and staff are safe,” says Yemin Orde Youth Village Director Dr. Benny Fisher. “The most important thing now is to give the children and the staff a feeling of security, especially since the first time these children had any feeling of security in their lives was when they came to Yemin Orde.”
It will take much work, and expense, to prevent the children from feeling abandoned again. The need for financial support is urgent and immediate. It is too soon to know exact numbers but they will count in the millions and insurance will cover only a fraction of the total. Physical losses must be replaced and other expenses, including transportation and extra staff, are myriad. The children are now living in Neveh Amiel, a sister village, but school and the matriculation exams important to their futures will start after the Hanukkah vacation. Rebuilding takes time but the philosophy and methodology that empowers at-risk children from diverse backgrounds to believe in themselves and their innate abilities must continue nevertheless.
Just last month, the acclaimed Yemin Orde Youth Choir toured the U.S and charmed audiences in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia and Atlanta with stories of their lives and aspirations. One of their songs spoke about tikkun olam—repairing the world with purpose.
Dr. Chaim Peri, Yemin Orde’s visionary educator sent a message to Friends of Yemin acknowledging the outpouring of concern about the Village.
“We feel that a clear sense of purpose unites us all, he said. “We are all resolute to heal the wounds and rebuild our village, until it once again becomes the crown jewel of Mt. Carmel.
Please visit www.yeminorde.org for information about contributions and updates on the situation, or contact Jackie Louk, Western States regional director of Friends of Yemin Orde at (310) 409-6985.
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Preceding provided by Friends of Yemin Orde