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Special project for International Day for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: The Educators Who Have Not Been Armed by Any Difficulty | Israel Today

2021-12-02T12:13:04.404Z


After the accident that left him crippled and changed his life, Eliezer educates boys to be careful on the roads • Fame teacher moved with her husband and children to a rehabilitative village, to live in a giving environment • And Maya became a kindergarten assistant, overcoming the disorder every day anew


18 years ago, Eliezer Ken (42) had a car accident that left him disabled;

But a person like him will not allow a disability to stop him.

The opposite is true: it was his life as a person with a disability that provided him with such a unique perspective, thanks to which he became an inspiring educator.

"I used to be a paratrooper commander, and after I was fatally injured in a car accident, I spent six years in rehabilitation," says Eliezer, who is married and a father of six.

As he began to recover from the injuries he had sustained, he was asked to lecture to youth about the dangers of the road and the importance of preventing road accidents.

He, for his part, fell head over heels in love with the profession - and decided to become a teacher.

"Nine years ago I finished my teaching studies, and four years ago I started as a personal empowerment teacher at the Jerusalem Yeshiva for young people. Today I teach Mishnah and prayer, and I choose to convey my messages about road safety and personal empowerment between the lines of material."

Tehila Kahana, teacher at a daycare center for autistics, Photo: Dudu Greenspan

The Jerusalem Municipality's Education Administration encourages innovative teaching, along with the promotion and improvement of emotional-social skills.

This is also the reason why the exceptional teaching methods used by Eliezer - who last year completed a master's degree in special education - are well received there.

Eliezer offers students to learn each subject in a creative way - through play, acting, singing, and even using sign language.

"You can see what a change this is making in students," he says proudly.

"The work is wonderful for them. It enlivens them, and it enlivens me too. The work of a teacher and a student is mutual, and what is good for them is also good for me. They learn sign language with me, and together we play and sing the study material.

"The material is a good excuse for co-creation and meeting with the student. I can meet a student who is having a hard time in life, but through the stories he is 'brewing' with this difficulty, and you feel what a change it is making in him."

In his work as a teacher, Eliezer adds, he strives to "help students and teachers deal with the challenges of life - along with my coping with the challenges I face."

"I wanted my children to live in the environment of the bride and the acceptance of difference"

While there are those who do not want people with disabilities to live next to them, Tehila Kahana (27) decided to move to live with her husband and two children in the rehabilitation village "Adi Negev - Nahalat Eran".

Tehila, a kindergarten teacher at a rehabilitation daycare center for children with autism, made the decision following an incident in her immediate family.

"I had a cousin with a mental disability," she says.

"They lived in France, but for me we were very close, and every time they came I wanted to take it upon myself to be with her. My soul connected in her soul, and when she passed away at the age of 14 and a half, I decided to dedicate my life to people with disabilities. give her".

Tehila volunteered at the Jerusalem Witness Center for several years, did national service there and even met her father, who would later become her partner.

She later completed a degree in special education and art, married her father and they had two lovely children: Dagan (3.6) and Noam (1.3).

"When they opened the option of living in the student village in the rehabilitation village, we decided to go for it," says Tehila, "because I am very connected to the association and the population - and also because we were looking for diversity and change."

One of the main considerations in her decision to live in the village where she works, is the desire for her children to grow up in an environment that accepts the other - and will, thanks to this, also absorb the value of volunteering.

Maya Solomon, dealing with fatal hunger syndrome and working as a kindergarten assistant, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon

"There were many who asked us why we were going to live there, and there were those who told us it was far and detached from everything, but over time these reactions have been replaced by sentences of appreciation," she smiles, adding: "We are very proud of it, and invite friends and family to show them the wonderful place "This pastoral and stunning. It is important for us that people know that there is such a thing, that they are aware and know how to accommodate and respect people with disabilities. When I encountered a special population, at 16, it shocked me. .

The rehabilitation village "Adi Negev - Nahalat Eran" is operated, as mentioned, by the Adi Association.

The founder of the village is General (Res.) And Israel Prize winner Doron Almog.

 "I have proven that I deserve a good job, that suits my abilities"

Thanks to perseverance and the difficult struggle with the "Deadly Hunger Syndrome" from which she suffers, Maya Solomon was able to be - against all odds - a kindergarten assistant.


She is 40 years old, a tenant in the Ariel Hostel of the Eckstein House of the Denal Group, which serves as a rehabilitation setting for young people and adults with Frader Willi Syndrome.

This syndrome, also known as "lethal hunger syndrome," manifests itself in developmental mental disabilities and an inability to reach a feeling of satiety - a condition that can lead to severe and dangerous obesity.

"People who deal with a syndrome like mine suffer from insufficiency from the moment they are born," says Maya. Here I studied and grew up, and I also did national service in a kindergarten in Jerusalem, which I graduated with a certificate of excellence. "

As part of the escort at the hostel, and following her great love for children, Maya helped find a job in the field - indeed, her dream came true: in the current school year she began working in a private kindergarten in Tzur Hadassah. "I think I proved that I deserve a good job, that suits my abilities. They gave me the opportunity to work in kindergarten. With all the difficulties in kindergarten itself, they accept me - there is an amazing staff in kindergarten that gives me the best feeling there is. They look at me as a normal person who wants to work "It's not an obstacle. The teacher told me it was part of her worldview - to integrate me into work."

The Ariel Hostel is home to 28 residents, most of them with Prader-Willi Syndrome, who receive a therapeutic envelope to provide them with an optimal quality of life.

The program includes the accompaniment of a certified clinical dietitian, with adherence to a healthy lifestyle and special menus;

Regular weighing and checking of indices;

Tailored sports program;

Leisure and employment activities;

And of course - psychological and psychiatric support.

"We wanted to allow Maya, despite the difficulty and coping with the syndrome, to express her high skills and exercise herself," says Beit Eckstein, CEO of the Danel Group, Yigal Nachtomi. Required. "

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-12-02

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