"…Love the Stranger for you were Strangers in the Land of Egypt… " (Deuteronomy 10:19)
At ASSAF organization we believe that refugees have a right to a life of safety and dignity. Our mission is to help African refugees in Israel stand on their feet and cope with their past traumas and their current challenges as status-less residents of Israel.
ASSAF's dedicated staff and volunteers work tirelessly to provide refugees with the inner strength and practical solutions necessary to cope with their situation.
Every month we meet 400 women, men, children and youth in the various supportive frameworks the organization provides: Women and men, together with their young children, visit the organization to receive initial or ongoing support; teen aged boys and girls take part in ASSAF's Youth Center activities where they can enjoy a safe and accepting atmosphere, leaving their difficult life situation outside the door for a few hours; families and individuals receive ongoing support services by ASSAF's trained staff and volunteers.
By donating to ASSAF, you are directly supporting services to African Refugees in Israel.
Please make a donation by clicking on the donate button above.
Thank you.
Michal Pinchuk, CEO
This is the story of Nadim, a Refugee child from Darfur in Sudan. He and His Family Receive Support from ASSAF:
Nadim, 15 years old today, lived with his family in a village in the Darfur region of Sudan until March 2009 when the Janjawid militia destroyed his village by burning all of the houses and murdering whoever they came across. Nadim managed to escape with his mother and 2 younger siblings but saw his father, , brutally murdered.
Nadim and his family fled to save their lives and made it to Israel.
Today, Nadim's family shares a two bedroom apartment with another single parent family of 3, originally from Darfur. Without the ability to obtain an official work permit, Nadim's mother works as a cleaning woman for many hours every day, earning a meager living that is not enough to sustain her family. To help his mother, Nadim also works after school. The work that is available to Nadim often includes hard physical labor that is not suitable for a growing boy.
Nadim's little brothers, Salam and Kimo, 11 and 13 years old, spend many long hours home alone or wonder the streets aimlessly for lack of suitable frameworks that will keep them occupied.
How ASSAF organization supports Nadim's family
Thanks to the vital support she receives by ASSAF's social worker, Nadim's mother is able to "keep her head above water". The support she receives is both practical, including a weekly dry food package, as well as emotional, coping with the horrors she has experienced and with the current challenges of raising 3 children under such difficult living conditions.
Nadim and his brothers take part in ASSAF's youth Center activities. Nadim is in the seniors' group and Salam and Kimo in the juniors' group. The Center gives Nadim and his brothers a chance to rest from their life's hardships and offers activities which they otherwise would not be able to obtain: access to computer and internet services, support with their school studies, as well as leisure time activities. Salam and Kimo are both on the Center's football team, which trains regularly and competes with other teams.
Nadim and his brothers enjoy a warm meal as a regular part of the Center's activity.
In ASSAF we cannot change the fact that Nadim and his family are refugees in Israel but, with your generous donation, we can improve their situation and ease some of the life challenges they face.