Liori’s journey to a home for life
We invite you to make it possible to complete a home for Lior and eleven other young women. I’m going to introduce the Goldblacksmith family from Kibbutz Zikim in the south of Israel, a few miles from the Gaza border: Tali and Ilan and their three daughters: Lior, Dror, and Shaked. They explain about their eldest daughter: “Lior is twenty years old and diagnosed with developmental delay and autism. For us, she will always be our special girl, but the reality now is that she is already a grown woman. And while she is special, we would like her to have the same opportunities and rights as the rest of us.
Unfortunately, Israel currently hasn’t enough resources to create adequate housing and employment after the school years (around 20 years) for people with special needs. That is why we have been working for several years to set up a respectful home for life framework for Lior and other women with special needs, in which she can be an equal among equals. We believe that her happiness and self-esteem depend on her independence and having a social life.
Because we were born and raised on a kibbutz with a warm community, just like Lior and her sisters, it was natural for us that the home has to be on a kibbutz and be an integral part of the community. We are convinced that this home for life will also benefit the community and enable the residents to become a part of the kibbutz, sharing daily life, holidays, volunteering, and work in the kibbutz.
The amazing community in Kibbutz Yad Mordechai has wholeheartedly joined us in making this a reality, and has donated a space so that this building can be renovated. It will have to be renovated from the ground up to adapt it to the needs of its twelve future residents, all women with special needs, just like our Lior.
Of course, we are not doing this alone. In addition to Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, the project has been designed under the guidance, collaboration, and support of the Regional Council in Ashkelon and the Shekel organization. Shekel is an association for community integration for people with disabilities from all sectors of Israeli society (religious and secular, Jews and Arabs), depending on their needs and level of independence and functioning. After the renovation of the building, the Shekel organization will operate the home and provide professional and operational support.”
Yad L’Ami is not going to invest in the actual building project; others are doing this. Donors are being sought to help with decorating the building. Any amount that is raised will be spent on decorating the house and installing the necessary equipment such as electrical products, air conditioning, accessibility facilities, and more.
Yad L’Ami is going to help and I hope that together we will reach out to this group of people. If you become a monthly donor, please provide your email address, so that I can regularly update you on the progress. If you know business people, please ask them to help.
With God’s help, this project will succeed!
