In part 1, Paul Calvert spoke with Kalman Samuels, the co-founder of Shalva, about his son Yossi's injury, and how that led to the founding of the most advanced centre in Israel for people with disabilities.



Continued from page 2

So the school bus, rather than bringing the child home, brought them to our centre. We had a nice garden apartment that we rented initially. Later we expanded it to the garden apartment next door.

From that initial programme Shalva grew in leaps and bounds.

Transforming The Lives Of Children With Disabilities And Their
Families In Israel

If I can fast forward 28 years, we have become the largest and most advanced centre in Israel, for people with disabilities from birth all the way through life.

We have created on land given to us by the Government in the heart of Jerusalem, seven acres of land, we have created a 22,000 square metre centre, with facilities that have not been seen. We are talking about a sports centre with semi Olympic pool, with a large therapy pool, and a fitness centre with a beautiful gym. We are talking about an auditorium that kids can put on shows, a 340 seat auditorium that is very high end.

We are talking about programmes that start with mummy; me and my mummy. Mummy comes with that baby she just gave birth to and the programme is not just for the baby and therapy, the programme is primarily to help mummy get back on her feet. Mummy and her baby get five therapies once a week. A full day when they come here and they have coffee and cake with other mothers, and they are able to realise that I am not alone, because it is the loneliness that kills. So mummy gets back on her feet. It is called Me and My Mummy, even though daddies often come, because our feeling is, if mummy is functioning then that family will make it. If mummy is not functioning that family is going to have a very difficult time making it.

Transforming The Lives Of Children With Disabilities And Their
Families In Israel

Out of that grew day care centres for one to three in pre-schools, for four to six, and then you come back to the after school programme, which is from 1pm to 6pm.

Overnight we also have respite, in which a segment, 40 children of those who come in the afternoon, sleep every night. Each night a different group, so Jonny is coming on Monday morning and stays over Monday night. What that means is Mummy doesn't see him until Tuesday night, because the school bus picks him up here in the morning and brings him back Tuesday afternoon. Only Tuesday night does he arrive back home. That break of 36 hours, two functional days and a functional night, is a gift that I think only someone who has experienced the incessant pressure can truly appreciate. If there is any single programme that Shalva presents that I would have loved to have had raising Yossi, it would be this one, because it's a sanity saver.

Today the numbers have changed. We service 2,000 people a week. We have in Shalva 100,000 visitors a year, who are healthy typical people coming to Shalva for a café that is probably the best Italian café in the city.

Prime Minister Netanyahu shaking hands
Prime Minister Netanyahu shaking hands

For events the Prime Minister was here last week and he had 300 journalists visiting. They rented our auditorium. The food was catered by our café, so they didn't come specifically to see the Shalva kids, but they interacted with them. We call this reverse inclusion, creating a situation where typical people want to be there.

You now have just a regular life, but it's a life where the kids with disabilities are working in the café, or doing many other things. They don't get excited about seeing all these people, and the people who come get over it very quickly as well. They just think this is an amazing place. The beauty of which is so off the charts and so clean and pristine that people say "Hey I want to be there." CR

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