The Jerusalem Post - The Jerusalem Post Magazine
Gvanim: Different, equal and partners
Members of a Sderot urban kibbutz team up to improve the lives of special-needs persons
“We may be different, but we all share the same goals and dreams. That’s what Gvanim is all about.”
To most Israelis, the town of Sderot is synonymous with rockets and missile attacks, but that was not always the case. In its early, far more serene years without threat of almost weekly, sometimes daily missile attacks, it was the home of new immigrant Russians and veteran Sephardi groups. Often referred to as “the gateway to the Negev,” Sderot was a development town that wasn’t developing as envisioned. Unemployment was high, job prospects were low, and after the army, many people left for bigger and brighter pastures.
Despite the town’s fledgling status, in 1987 six young former kibbutzniks established an urban kibbutz there and called it Migvan (Hebrew for “diverse”). Its aim was to create a new relationship between the kibbutz and the peripheral town in a way that would generate partnership and trust, and together improve the quality of life as one community.
Nitai Shreiber, one of the founding members of the kibbutz and today one of the two CEOs of the organization along with fellow founding member Nirit Rimon, explains how Sderot was chosen.
“At the time, we looked all over the country for a place that we didn’t have to ‘save,’ but where we could go in and contribute to its growth. We clicked with the mayor, Amir Peretz, and decided to set up shop in Sderot, so to speak,” and this they did, setting up successful programs for residents.
The kibbutz and the town, meanwhile, were growing in strength and number, and in 1994 the kibbutz established a recognized nonprofit organization named Gvanim. They were now able to concentrate on offering even more needed social support for people with physical and mental challenges, cognitive issues, mental intellectual disabilities and those on the high and low spectrum of autism. The aim was and still is to give these people the confidence and tools to become independent, contributing members of society along with giving back to the community and country.
Working closely with the Health, Social Services and
‘I wear my Gvanim chef’s uniform with pride, and I am as proud of our food as I am of my team’
Education ministries along with the National Insurance Institute (NII), and with the local authorities in Sderot, the projects are in welfare, education, absorption of new immigrants and, as mentioned, helping those with physical, cognitive and mental challenges. There are over 35 ongoing programs nationwide for over 2,000 participants.
Gvanim’s uniqueness is that each person has a plan developed specifically to meet his/her specific needs. The plan is then integrated into the appropriate Gvanim projects in order to help the participant become independent and deal with the daily aspects of living such as getting and keeping a job, doing food shopping, healthcare, leisure, etc.
Each participant is asked to choose a goal in three areas of life, a goal that includes contributing to the community and social entrepreneurship. This is especially important since Gvanim considers the service recipients as full partners in the development of its programs, many of which have been adopted by various government ministries. The individual work process is interwoven with group activity in the community as part of personal and communal empowerment, clearly a win-win for both the city and the participants.
Rimon, Gvanim’s co-CEO, is proud of Gvanim – and with good reason. “For us, the sky’s the limit! We provide guidance in the development of skills in employment and career management, before, during and after military service or national-civic service (Sherut Leumi); professional studies and even academic degrees; going into business; participation in social involvement; finding solutions; and more.”
One can receive Gvanim’s services in different ways, depending on age, disability and dream. As per service options, people with various disabilities can join Gvanim’s programs for army service as volunteers or to do National Service. Regarding the army, there are two options: regular army service (formal) or the informal service which is less stressful with easier conditions, but all include interesting and important jobs, and all the participants wear proper IDF uniforms. During army service and National Service, the individual’s counselor visits regularly and makes sure everything is going well on both sides.
Gvanim also has housing in nationwide programs: In Preps Programs – “Dror Prep” (autism), “Hed Prep” (mental health disabilities) and “Wings (Knafayim) Prep” (physical disabilities) – young adults (18-27) with disabilities join for several years, learning by experiencing skills for independent living. The programs combine community living (in apartments provided by, and staffed with, Gvanim staff), volunteering for national/army service, free market employment, leisure and community life. Branches of all three preps are available in Sderot.
Ashkelon’s location on the Mediterranean is the perfect place for “Riding the Waves,” a unique program for young adults with mental disabilities. Along with the city’s Galim Surfing Club and Gvanim staff, the participants take a three-month surfing course and, wearing wet suits, surf in (almost) any weather.
Everyone surfs together, once again emphasizing Gvanim’s belief that “we are all different yet equal.”
“Homes for Life” (ages 18+) runs in three different districts, including Sderot. This project provides a wide range of services for residential, employment and community integration for people with disabilities. The program offers tools for improving daily skills for life, which include living a healthy lifestyle, enjoying leisure and fun activities, and employment. Unlike the “Preps Programs,” “Homes for Life” provides services for as long as the recipient wants them and is designated for people who need intensive support. Residents can join more than one program at the same time.
A one-of-a kind café
The Gvanim branch in Ashkelon is a café/event hall and a factory all in one building and on one floor, opened six years ago with help from the Ashkelon Municipality, NII, the Health Ministry and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Fund.
The front of the building is a warm, modern, beauti
fully designed café.
In a separate, closed-off area, there is a factory, where workers swipe their time card when they arrive at work and when they leave for the day. Inside, people are busy doing all kinds of work, from cutting, to sticking, to sewing, to ceramics, pottery and painting.
This “labor of love,” as several of the workers refer to it, results in a varied collection of one-of-a-kind items all handmade by the men and women working there, who are all Gvanim members. These items are available not only to the walk-in public, but are frequently bought in quantity as gifts for schools, corporations, small businesses, private organizations and even party favors.
The profits from selling their work go back to the workers, who are assigned tasks especially suited to their needs or specific talents.
The products are all created with the cooperation of young Israeli designers as a way of supporting the development of arts in Israel.
The factory workers are taught how to make that particular product and then work on it, stopping for lunch breaks in the staff kitchen, with sandwiches, coffee, tea and cold drinks always available.
The Gvanim factory gives the workers a sense of independence, much pride, and a feeling of what it’s like to be a part of an active workforce, a major goal of Gvanim.
In the front of the factory, heading a row of sewing machines, Natali is busy at work, not even stopping or looking up when I walk in to take a look.
“I worked as a professional seamstress and server in a restaurant but needed to take a break from life after my daughter was born. I was overly stressed, lost confidence in myself and had absolutely no desire or strength to go out, to work or be with people. No way,” said Natali.
“Four years ago, my social worker suggested I go to Gvanim, and that changed my life. Being here has taught me how to be a ‘regular person’ again. With their help, I regained my self-confidence and am enjoying being around people again. Now I’m on the Gvanim regular staff and couldn’t be happier. I’m grateful for the help I got from Gvanim and am proud of myself for overcoming my problems and getting my life back, something I thought was never going to happen.”
The Gvanim Ashkelon café, under the trained eye of chef Oded Torgeman, 55, has made a name for itself with his delicious, high-quality kosher menus for any occasion. Together with the event’s hosts, the menus are meticulously planned with Torgeman, who was once a participant in the Gvanim program.
“I had been a hotel head chef for five years when I had a breakdown and needed to be hospitalized,” he said. “I couldn’t work. I couldn’t function. I couldn’t go near a kitchen which had been my second home for 30 years.
“After my release from the psychiatric department of Soroka, I was under the continued care of psychologists and social workers, who led me to Gvanim. Here I got back into the kitchen slowly and even a bit fearfully, and did cutting and peeling and cleaning, but it didn’t take too long to get my strength back. When I was asked to take over for the chef when he left, I jumped at the chance.
“So now I’m back in the kitchen and am delighted, a full-service chef: I don’t just prepare menus and cook them, I teach my workers how to deal with people on the floor and plate food, serve and present desserts and drinks. Sometimes they sit in with me and the client and help plan the food for their party or meeting. Today I’m part of the regular staff and wear my Gvanim chef’s uniform with pride, and I am as proud of our food as I am of my team.”
One of Torgeman’s regular kitchen helpers is Natasha,
who lives in Ashkelon. “I came to the program four years ago and I love it here. I’m all over the kitchen, helping chef Oded. I peel, slice, pare, cut, plate, wash dishes, sweep, clean. I feel a great sense of accomplishment at the end of each day, especially when we’ve catered an event. I’m proud of what we do and of my part in doing it. Four years ago this would have been fantasy.”
In testament to the excellent reputation the café has earned, corporate and business meetings booked during the weeks of the coronavirus were (obviously) canceled, but all promised to reschedule. New events, including a bat mitzvah, bar mitzvah, 50th wedding anniversary and a surprise 60th birthday party, have all been tentatively scheduled for late summer months.
Success and determination
Gvanim participants are granted access to programs through their healthcare worker or social services, and they have a lot of mountains to climb. All the people I spoke to told me that Gvanim had given them back their lives and the will to return to society after having almost given up completely.
In fact, it appears that not even a pandemic can stop them from their journey back to health and being contributing members of society. While most of the country had been brought to an almost complete standstill by the coronavirus, all Gvanim activities across the nation continued, along with regular psychological and social help. These were given in person when possible, and if not either online or by phone.
In Ashkelon, staff prepared kits for the branch’s factory workers to work on at home, geared to each person’s specific talents. These included cutting patterns, sketching, painting, sewing and assembling. After passing the organization’s quality control, the designs will be sold in the Café’s popular gift shop.
Schreiber proudly states, “When we first came to Sderot, the town dealt with problems resulting from being peripheral and taking in a large olim [new immigrant] population. Despite those challenges and the added security threat, today other cities come to learn from our successes in Sderot.
“We also get frequent requests from parents to open up branches in their cities, because we are so successful and so special. We don’t label anyone, because we are all the same with the same needs and desires.
“Our goal is to help people with disabilities develop skills for an independent, vibrant, rich life, complete with full self-realization; because although we are all different, we are equal partners in our journey through life.” ■