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Israeli centres provide quality of life for severely disabled children

February 26, 2015 12:35
Police volunteers at the Aleh centre in Jerusalem

By

Sandy Rashty,

Sandy Rashty

6 min read

Dov hit his head falling down a flight of stairs while playing with school friends - his parents mistakenly attributed the subsequent vomiting to a stomach bug. Five-year-old Sarah downed a bottle of cleaning liquid when her grandmother's back was turned. Danny was left alone in the bath while his mother answered the phone - she returned to find him submerged in water. Yonatan, two, was beaten to a pulp by his teacher, a respected rabbi. These children can no longer walk or talk and depend on the pioneering care provided in a Jerusalem centre run by Aleh, helping those with severe disabilities.

More than 650 Israelis - Jews, Arabs and Bedouins - are receiving round-the-clock support at Aleh's five centres, which utilise state-of-the-art equipment and the latest research to enable service users to reach their full potential. Its leaders say that before Aleh's inception in 1982, the severely disabled in Israel were predominantly left in the care of devout nuns as doctors and other charities were often unwilling to deal with those with incurable conditions.

Now Aleh is looking to increase awareness of its work among potential UK supporters.

Shlomit Grayevsky is director of Aleh Jerusalem, which cares for 110 youngsters with severe mental and physical life-shortening conditions. Not one can speak or walk without assistance.