The Nisuyi Primary School is a district school situated in Jerusalem’s city center. The student body is diverse, with children from all over the city, including residents of the city center. Many of the students living in the city center come from families from a lower socioeconomic background who are either asylum seekers or foreign workers.
The Education Ministry in Jerusalem does not fund afternoon care for children in the 3rd grade and above. Thus, a situation had evolved where young children end their school day at 13:30 and roam the city without parental supervision until their parents return from work. Concerned parents turned to me to help find a solution to this problem, and this is how the idea of afternoon club was born.
Our goal in establishing the club was to create a program that offered children an afternoon program the incorporated interesting content and important values. It follows the traditional ‘neighborhood’ model, aiming to combine creative freedom and quality enrichment courses with a familiar and secure environment, and all at an affordable price. We made a point of offering a variety of unique courses, such as computers, toy-making, Dungeons & Dragons, theater, dance, painting, basketball, ping pong, soccer for girls, self-defense and more.
The Afternoon Club staff (comprised of educators and college and high-school students) supports the children in homework and learning and offers personal and emotional support. The club cares for 150 children, some of whom come from families with minimal means that are able to pay a symbolic sum for the activity or nothing at all. The children are given a hot lunch, support with their homework and at least one quality extra-curricular course a day. The cost per month for 5 full days in the afternoon club is 1,100 NIS. The club also offers childcare in the summer and during the school holidays of Hannukah and Passover at an additional cost.
When the club was formed, the Nisuyi Primary School parents decided that the framework would be open to every child who wanted to join, including children whose parents did not have the means to pay. At the time there were five children who needed assistance. Paying parents covered the costs for these children, but 6-8 new children from families in-need will be joining us in 2018. This is a very welcome development, but one that requires extra financial support as the club can no longer subsidize these students alone.
This is why we started this crowd-funding initiative. Our special club needs your support!
We are looking to you to help cover costs of the care we provide in the afternoon, giving disadvantaged children a chance to learn, grow, get support and simply have fun. If we get enough support, we could even offer full participation in the summer and holiday camps, which has sadly not been possible until now.
Please bear in mind that most of the parents of these children work full-time and are not at home to receive their children in the afternoon. They certainly cannot provide extra-curricular activities or the support the children receive from the educators at the club. This fact highlights the vitality of our activity.
We believe it is of the utmost importance to ensure that children from less privileged backgrounds have the same educational opportunities at the school and in the club as their friends, but we need your help to make this happen.
Your support is vital! Help us to offer these kids priceless support during crucial years of their development and allow them the privilege of being children.
