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"In the sailing boat at sea, you learn a lot about guidance, leadership and overcoming difficulties in life." Israel today

2022-02-11T13:53:53.985Z


They overcome winds and waves, learn to work in a team and on the way rediscover their resilience and destiny.


Until I saw the magic happening right before my eyes, skepticism lamented in me.

The sturdy guy with the broken front tooth, the thorn haircut and the embarrassed smile - did not match the guide stencil.

But as soon as Yoav (pseudonym) takes control of the boat, the fixed molds melt.

Yoav is not only a guide who conveys confidence and runs a challenging group of boys, but also a leader, one who manages to change the atmosphere and sweep away.

One that is pleasant to sail with to the open sea, to lift a sail and sail on the waves.

A heat that injured for one day illuminates the blue "Shavit" anchorage, east of the port of Haifa, on the banks of the Kishon River.

The engines of the three sailboats are lit with a loud rumble.

Carefully the sailboats slip, one after the other, between the yachts moored in the marina.

In each boat are four or five boys and girls, aged 15-13, students of "Ahuzat Yeladim - WIZO".

They came to the sea from the heights of the Ahuza neighborhood in Carmel, where the boarding school for children with emotional complexity or mental disorders is located.

The boys go to the sea once a week, as part of the leadership program named after Elhanan and Shlomit Friedman, on behalf of the Etgarim organization.

The association was founded in 1995 by IDF disabled people and rehabilitation personnel, with the aim of empowering and socially integrating people with disabilities through extreme sports in nature.

The purpose of the leadership program, which is already in its sixth cycle, is to train as sailing instructors for at-risk youth.

At the end of the apprenticeship period, towards the end of the second year, they will lead to the heart of children with disabilities, and return to society what they received for themselves.

This time, in the fourth encounter we are joining, they are already supposed to operate the boat on their own, from controlling the rudder to stretching the sails and releasing them, depending on the strength of the wind and its direction.

"I was a very nervous and lively child. I could go crazy, go out and not come back," says 18-year-old Yoav, a 12th-grade student at Ahuzat Yeladim-WIZO and a graduate of the Etgarim leadership program, who joins as a sailing instructor.

"Over the years the nervousness started to go down. Today I have a short thread, but it is already longer than it used to be. I was able to reset myself, and today I have no pills at all. Today I understand that everything is in my head and with willpower like mine I can fly high. Now "I'm here in front of you, not cursing, restrained. I don't jump in front of your eyes all the time."

He grew up in the north.

He has two supportive brothers and a involved mother and partner.

With his father, however, the connection was severed years ago.

"From my choice, I decided to leave the house. The staff at Ahuzat Yeladim helped me reset myself, from the young instructors in the year of service to the principals - Yossi Saragossi, the village principal, and Olga Yelizarov, the school principal.

"All the staff members have a huge heart. They give everything of themselves. We are not deprived of anything, help, psychologists, psychiatrists, classes, everything we need. There are also shortcomings in 'Children's Estate', as there are everywhere, but they work on that too. ".

Yoav will finish high school with a partial matriculation certificate, but he does not regret it.

"At first I sat and studied a lot, but with age and hormones I decided to open up and invest more in the social side. Today I am the coordinator of Mashatzim (Young Shelach Instructors; 11A) in the boarding school.

This means that there are 11 children under me who wanted to give of themselves, and today we help organize all the trips and social activities of the boarding school.

This of course connects to sailing in challenges, because there I was taught how to lead.

And that is something that will accompany me all my life. "

He joined the leadership program in ninth grade, after the teacher offered him to join a sailing class.

"I came a little apprehensive. But then I saw that they were doing an amazing job here. I learned everything from scratch, how to lift sails, how to turn the boat. I learned the hard way why it is important to follow the instructions and keep my hands inside the boat, after my hand was caught between two boats. .

"Along with the cruise I learned a lot about training and leadership. Then I trained myself with children with disabilities from another school, ten-year-olds with Down Syndrome and with autism. Before the first meeting with them I was very scared."

Yoav's fear did not stem from the dignity of the responsibility of operating a boat, but from the encounter with the children themselves.

"I am a person who finds it difficult to accept the other," he honestly admits.

"I have no patience and tolerance, and I'm not really open to listening to others. I told myself I would try anyway, but if I did not like it, I would stop - so as not to just hurt the children.

"But then I saw how warm and smiling children are, really amazing kids who do not want to hurt anyone, and just look for the good. It did me good on the heart. Suddenly the world changed for me. "And he will hug them. It moved me and I connected with them."

What does sailing at sea do for you?

"Releasing all the pressure from the body. I have a lot of pressure on me, here studies and there from stress, here some girl is harassing me, and there is a family name ... So at sea, on the cruise, the wind knocks on my face, the water splashes on me, and it gives release.

"Mostly it's calm, but there is also action that only happens when there is a storm and winds with high waves, the boat overturns in a moment, and water starts to enter. I had a hard time saying goodbye to the sea, but principal Olga explained that other children should be given a chance. So I moved on from the sea, started investing more in shelters, and also started working in a kiosk.

Now my mother only has to support herself. "

what's her job?

"I do not really know. I do not like that she interferes with me in life, and therefore does not interfere with her."

Did you tell her about the experiences from the cruise?

"Sure. I sent her pictures. I told her it's amazing how people here give of themselves." 

What is your dream?

"To open a pub or restaurant, after you have confirmed in the army, that I am waiting for my placement in it. I want to prove that even without matriculation it is possible to succeed. It takes courage, but I know people in the field and try to learn from them all the time. "So that they too will succeed."

• • •

Ahuzat Yeladim - WIZO - was founded in 1939 as a summer camp for Holocaust refugee orphans.

In 1942 it became an educational boarding school for children.

Over the years, the institution has received immigrant children and children referred by the relief services.

In recent years, the youth village has begun to absorb mainly children with difficulties, specializing in mental health.

"Currently, about 80 children study and live there who have a family back home with mental difficulties - and sometimes an unstable family back home," explains Tal Shmueli, an educator at the school.

"The purpose of the place is to re-give them the tools and the foundation to continue. The framework provides children with answers beyond the standards of class, board and teacher. This includes all kinds of projects, like the leadership program, which is very unique.

"I accompanied for two years, on behalf of the school, the group that Yoav participated in. He obviously stood out for his leadership ability, thanks to his special character traits. But everyone sees change. It's an amazing project."

For some students, a "children's mansion" is a last resort from further hospitalization, entering an institution for criminals, or God forbid escaping to life on the street.

The students who are privileged to join the Leadership Program of Challenges, are the ones who are already in the process of growth and rehabilitation.

Maccabees are prevented and prepared to raise the sails.

The sea is calm thanks to the breakwater that borders the bay and blocks the high waves left by a storm yesterday.

The serenity is disturbed by the noise of the seagulls soaring between water and sky.

The air after the rainy days, even in the heart of the polluted bay, is fresh and bright.

We move further and further away from the industrialized space of the anchorage, wearily laden with containers, to the expanses of the open sea.

Stand accordingly the red pressure at the end of the mast, maintained in the wind direction.

With a joint effort, lift the central sail attached to the manor, the transverse rod, and the front sail, the striker. 

On the sailboat we sail in, known in the language of the sailors Sonar, there is its name - Oren Almog.

"Maccabi Haifa purchased the boat and donated it to the Challenges, so that Oren can compete in the Paralympic Games," explains Nimrod Platzur, director of the sea and trips in Challenges.

"Oren lost sight of himself and his family in a terrorist attack on a Maxim restaurant in October 2003. At the age of 11, he learned to sail through Etgarim, which also operates a cruise for the blind. Today he works for the association. Etgarim has 8,000 activities a year, 160 employees and 1,500 volunteers."

Although Nimrod is responsible for extensive activity, he does not give up going out into the field.

"I save myself one day a week to guide one group myself. I am from Haifa, so I managed to guide in the leadership program named after Elhanan and Shlomit Friedman. Elhanan, by the way, was himself a Holocaust survivor who immigrated to Israel and roamed the streets without a home. "Activities for at-risk youth. From lesson to lesson, you can see how they slowly get out of their comfort zone, learn independence and gain confidence."

In the boat with me are two crew members, four boys and a dog.

Robin, Nimrod's black dog, has already amassed many sea hours, including a voyage to Cyprus.

He's the only one allowed to stand free in the boat.

All the rest can be done only with approval, and while making sure that the swinging lamp does not hit their heads and throw them into the water.

The boys take positions in the boat.

One of them sits in the front and holds the rope of the striker's sail.

He is self-contained, his head covered with a hood, but makes sure to fulfill with devotion after the tasks and instructions.

His friend prefers to lie down on his back, and here and there reaches out for the craft of sailing.

The other two make shifts on the long pole of the rudder, a little apprehensive of the dignity of the task, but their eyes twinkle with satisfaction every time the sailboat obeys them.

Along with Nimrod, he instructs the boys Ilai, a 22-year-old volunteer at the organization.

"The activity with the boys and also with the blind fills me. Unlike the pilot, sailing requires teamwork, and it teaches a lot. It gives me a lot too. It needs some meaning in life, doesn't it?", He smiles.

From time to time the main sail has to be stretched or released, and the guys get into the hard work.

Sometimes they sink into what seems to be the most important part of sailing: the playing box.

When an argument over the songs being played and the volume obscures the atmosphere, and even causes the boat to lean on its side and water begin to penetrate it, Ilai turns off the music.

"Like we said, today your job is to sail the boat together, and we do not intervene unless it comes to a life-threatening situation. So come on" - doubt encourages doubt rebukes them Nimrod.

The guys calm down, take control of the boat again and sail towards the spherical buoy that sways in the heart of the bay, and on it are pasted notes with social missions.

Carefully approach with the side of the ship close to the orange ball, and get permission to take out hands, to tear off the page with the activity.

Among the laughter and cheers for success in the missions the boys also filter curses in the variety of biases of the seventh letter, and also spit.

Ilai repeatedly makes it clear that cursing in the boat is forbidden, and Nimrod insists that it is forbidden to spit in front of the wind, "so that we may all remain dry."

The boys strive to listen and obey, not always successfully.

In the absence of music, they start singing songs in praise of their favorite football team, and against their hated police.

• • •

Behind each of them is a complex story.

How complex, I only realize when we return to the beach two hours later in peace.

Itzik Batito, the educator who accompanies the group, describes the background of each of the boys, or "children," in his own mouth.

"This boy, who now seemed quiet and harmless, could not be approached at all. The one who approached him was beaten. We went through two very, very difficult years with him. How many times can you call the boy for police? But little by little he saw how many believed in him and how much they loved him. - And he calms down.It's really lovely.

"Another boy did not talk to anyone, and at every opportunity ran to the boarding school gate and tried to run away. He was shaking near other people, and was careful to cover his eyes with the hoodie. Slowly the hat began to rise, and we began to see his eyes. Even today he is not. Great talker, but hard to believe it's the same kid.It's really a miracle.

"The others also come from a very complex family background, separation from parents, apartment moves, poverty, instability, various vulnerabilities. Everyone here is a story. On a personal level I feel very connected to them, because I also grew up as a child in a boarding school. Children's Mansion 'There are two staff members, the classes are very small, and each child has his own track built.

"Every week I come to the beach with the team, I feel sorry that we are not always here. It is much more suitable for them than a class with a board, chalk and teacher. Through the experience at sea they learn a lot about themselves and their abilities to work in a team, lead and lead."

yifater1@gmail.com

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-02-11

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