Info

The Institute for the Advancement of Education in Jaffa ("The Jaffa Institute") was established in 1982 as a private, non-profit, multi-service social agency to assist thousands of severely disadvantaged children and their families. The Institute's mission is to provide educational, recreational and social enrichment programs that endow children with a sense of self-worth by supporting their self-esteem so they can break the cycle of bitter poverty they were born into, and grow to be healthy, educated and productive adults. The Jaffa Institute's programs are aimed at children from the poverty-stricken areas of Jaffa, South Tel Aviv, Neve Ofer, Bat Yam, Kiryat Ha-Yovel (Jerusalem), and, through the Bet Shemesh Residential Center, from other impoverished regions in Israel. The Jaffa Institute offers a wide variety of specially tailored programs for the children and families in our care. Programs fall into two main categories: learning/enrichment and prevention/assistance. The first category focuses on "leveling the playing field" for children from deprived backgrounds, allowing them to compete educationally and socially with children from wealthier backgrounds. Whereas previously, Israel's poorest children could only dream about a higher education at college or university, now a significant number of our children are participating in higher education courses and degrees at institutions around Israel. The second category focuses on addressing common problems that many of our children face: drugs, violence, and hunger are all too often a daily reality for the children in our service areas. The Jaffa Institute works closely with Ministry of Welfare officials to target, provide assistance, and assess the progress of citizens in our service area. As a holistic solution, the Jaffa Institute offers programming to support the parents of children in our care by hosting seminars on violence prevention and work training initiatives as well as distributing bi-monthly food deliveries. All projects are developed to empower and support the community as a whole. Underpinning all of our programs is an ethos that education is the means through which our children - some of the poorest and most underprivileged in Israel - can break free of the cycle of poverty that would otherwise entrap them.