Post COVID: New normalcy at NEVE HANNA

The past year has been quite a challenging time for the children of NEVE HANNA due to the COVID-19 pandemic but it did not stop us. When it was necessary to make significant changes in the children’s daily routines and keep the campus virus-free, NEVE HANNA relied on the resilience and tenacity of its director and staff.

Moving forward, we are pleased to report that NEVE HANNA Children’s Home is doing well. The adult staff are vaccinated. Nevertheless, the staff and children will continue to wear their masks, safe social distance and live in small groups. Each family group operates on its own. The daycare groups have now regularly resumed. Although, the children and staff are living in different times with some restrictions, there is a feeling of “new normalcy”.

What makes it so different are the teaching and work methods by our staff and young leadership. Rabba Liron Levy continues to teach the Bar/Bat Mitzvah children in small groups. These same methods were held during Purim and Passover. With each family group operating on its own, the NEVE HANNA staff and children celebrated Purim with festive costumes, music, singing and dancing.

For Passover, Rabba Liron Levy will conduct a special workshop for the staff: “How to celebrate a traditional and meaningful Leil Ha’Seder in the groups.” Before going home to spend the holiday with their families, the children will celebrate Passover with a special seder experience. Rabba Liron Levy will hold a special toast for the holiday with her traditional D’var Torah.

Rabba Liron Levy is hoping that after Passover, NEVE HANNA will get to renew the NOAM children and youth activities, and with Hashem’s help, invite Rabbi Hannah Klebansky to begin the Torah Project workshops with the children. Unfortunately, these workshops were delayed last year due to the pandemic. You can still participate in the Torah Project by making a dedication in the Torah Scroll writing. You may choose words, or sentences, or whole chapters to be inscribed in the Torah scroll. This is an especially meaningful way to commemorate a special occasion, such as a birth or a bar/bat mitzvah, or to memorialize a loved one.

Another successful year as NEVE HANNA Children’s Home and STREETLIGHT light up the community for Passover, by bringing food, hope and love to so many in need. The staff and children prepared and packed 120 boxes of food for delivery to 120 families within the community. STREETLIGHT operates by the motto: “The best thing in the world is to do good deeds for others.”

NEVE HANNA has been hard at work making the necessary repairs, renovations and expansions throughout the children’s home and campus. The staff and children work together, lending their artistic talents to help beautify the children’s home. Thanks to the staff and volunteers, the NEVE HANNA Library has finished being constructed. Our mission continues on as we strive to fill the bookshelves with a thousand books, supply computers, hire a librarian, tutors and student assistants.

Thanks to the love and participation from our friends and supporters in the Library campaign, NEVE HANNA is expecting 500 new books for the library! NEVE HANNA can now begin filling the shelves with books for the children. The books that will be chosen thanks to your donations — may inspire them to pursue studies in biology, education, medicine, astronomy and a myriad of other subjects, and to continue learning at the university level. NEVE HANNA has done so much to empower its children. When you join our Buy a Book, Build a Library campaign, you help us do so much more. It all begins with one book and YOU.

And speaking of books, NEVE HANNA received a very special gift towards the Library. Baruch Inbar, a former child of NEVE HANNA who went on to become a successful artist, designer, animator, author and visual storyteller of children’s books has contributed copies of his published works including special dedications to the NEVE HANNA Children’s Home. What a source of pride for NEVE HANNA, but even more so for our children and teenagers. Throughout the years, there have been many successful alumni born out of the NEVE HANNA Children’s Home. They — and we — are justifiably proud of their accomplishments. You will be inspired and moved by Baruch’s story.

NEVE HANNA Children’s Home strives to meet all the physical, emotional, mental and educational needs of its children. Thanks to the generosity of our friends and supporters, NEVE HANNA has been able to expand its outreach to young people facing great difficulty. It is our hope that you will partner with American Friends of NEVE HANNA and participate in our Torah Project and Library campaigns.

The children and staff of NEVE HANNA thank you for your love and support. Best wishes for the upcoming Passover and our deepest wishes for your health and safety.

Go to www.afnevehanna.org to learn more about the children, programs and projects.