British group helps change future for youngsters from the deprived northern region of the Galil

"Since Moran started with her, she is more secure; she loves Moran. We feel like a family with her. When we say Moran's name to Eden she feels better - she smiles," says David.

Listening to him are 25 British UJIA workers and volunteers. They are on a three-day tour to view the results of their hard work at more than a dozen of the charity's educational, pastoral and co-existence-based projects across this part of Israel.

Youth Futures was created to help at-risk children do better at school, but as the project's national director Shai Lazer points out, Akko-born Eden and the 1,200 other students helped by this project every year gain more than just a good grade.

"Throughout my life, my parents told me I was worth something - children at risk don't hear this," Mr Lazer says. "Our mentors help them in self-esteem, their relationship with their family and their motivation at school. At the end of four years, we want them to be independent."

This holistic approach has resulted in a one per-cent drop-out rate among those who, without the programme, would be most likely to fail in school.

A smiling Eden says: "My life is Youth Futures. I tell Moran what makes me happy in class, and she helps me to overcome my difficulties. I feel confident telling Moran everything, and she knows everything about me. I love her very much."

Moran, who is a mentor for 16 students, says she has worked with children in Akko - a mixed Jewish and Arab city with poor infrastructure - because "this is a place to make a change. I want to work to make society better."

Some of her charges have been bullied; others have been the bullies. She has helped them through these difficulties and others. "Now I am working with many girls who are starting puberty, so it's all about appearance and periods, and questions like that.

"My group is finishing sixth grade now, and I am saying that with tears in my eyes because I am so proud."

David Israel, part of UJIA's Leeds campaign committee, confesses that watching Eden and her father speak about Moran, "it was difficult to hold back the tears.

"When I sat in that room, with a father who was choking back sobs when talking about the impact the Youth Futures volunteers had had on his daughter, I couldn't help but think about my 17-month-old daughter."

Mr Israel, 47, said that, despite having volunteered for UJIA since 1999, he "forgot just how important we are as a regional power in the Galilee," adding that he found himself in awe of the Youth Futures mentors.

"Young people have a hard enough time in northern Israel as it is but there is this kind of support available for them, and all we have to do in the UK is give a bit of money.

"These mentors give their lives, their time and love; they give so much more than we ask our donors for. Through my own eyes, I've seen fathers cry over the effect my donation makes in Israel.

"How could you not want to make that happen yourself, for a few pounds? It's a no-brainer."

For these visitors from the UK, the trip, a combination of a tour around the country and a company field day, has been a revelation.

Young UJIA chair Dan Diamond recalls that, before the visit, "even though I've been involved for more than seven years, I didn't fully understand the scale of what we are doing in Israel.

"Things which we sometimes take for granted, in terms of education and standards of living, are the areas where UJIA has stepped in over there. It was really eye-opening."

A revealing moment of a different kind came for Dan when he discovered that his "footballing talents have fallen apart" at a project for disadvantaged children in the Galil.

The Equaliser scheme has so far attracted 225 disadvantaged children of all religions to play after-school football instead of roaming the streets. The children are taught fair play through sport in a region which is split between Arabs and Jews.

Dan was a member of a scratch UJIA side that took on a team of tiny, Messi-like players, and were duly thrashed.

Afterwards, he preferred to focus on the success of the scheme. "It's great, because the kids don't really seem to care about whether they're Jewish or Arab. They just have a shared goal of playing football together.

"People think of Israel and they think of division, but it was a shining example that they can get along with each other."

Another programme helping youngsters in difficult circumstances is the children's village in Karmiel. More than 230 young people aged three to 18 live in the community, with married couples looking after 12 youngsters each.

The children they care for, often along with their own biological children, come from broken homes where tales of violence, sexual abuse and drug and alcohol addiction are common.

Some children are illiterate when they arrive, having been kept out of school for two or three years by abusive guardians. In Karmiel, they find a home.

The village, which looks idyllic with its green spaces and playgrounds, provides its inhabitants with an education, extra-curricular clubs and stability.

There is also a children's bank, to teach youngsters responsibility and to handle money before they go to the army. They always have a home to come back to, while scholarships are available to pursue higher education.

Oren, one of the parents, works as a full-time engineer before coming home to a dozen children - and two dogs.

"Everyone thinks 'woah', but you get used to it. Most of the children help in the house. Some of the younger children are harder to take care of, but it's OK.

"Sometimes it gets difficult, but then one of the children comes and tells me 'I love you', and it's fine."

Dan Diamond was surprised by his reaction to Oren's explanation, saying: "I found that really moving, and that's not normal for me. It was amazing to see someone that committed to a UJIA project, and to the kids.

"I felt proud that someone like that associated with us, that he was part of a UJIA project, investing his time helping them with their homework and futures. I feel like it really will pay off."

Lisbeth Gilmore, a UJIA project committee member from Borehamwood, says the project - which has a waiting-list for parents, not children - is outstanding.

"The couples involved are special people. To be able to take in children with your own family, you've got to be very sure of yourself. It's not something I could do."

One of Oren's children, a 14-year-old ("and-a-half", she insists) girl whose name cannot be revealed, has been at the village since she was six.

She reveals that, "here, I have more friends and activities and there is a lot more support than when I was at home. I sing and dance, and I'm in the choir." And, she reveals, she also has fights with her siblings sometimes.

In short, she comes across as a regular kid, which is perhaps the whole point of the village.

In Kiryat Shmona - Israel's northernmost town and usually the first target whenever rockets are fired from Lebanon - Darca Danciger High School is falling apart. The only secular school in the region has a crumbling, mouldy facade, exposed wiring and insufficient toilet facilities.

According to Natie Shevel, UJIA regional director for Israel: "As Israel grew, Kiryat Shmona became a dumping ground for some of the weaker sections of the population."

In the economically deprived and earthquake-susceptible town of 23,000 people, it is important to give children the skills they need to help improve the region as they grow older - and the connection that makes them want to use them in their home town.

In addition to developing the school's infrastructure, the UJIA-backed project is focused on enthusing children about science, technology, engineering and maths - and it seems to be heightening ambitions.

The children have exhibited their science projects - ranging from gluten-detection to help coeliac sufferers to a health drink that lowers blood pressure while increasing energy - at shows in Italy and the United States.

Danielle Ben Shabbat, the 14-year-old chair of the student council, says she wants to be "the minister of education. That is my really big dream. I want to work in education, and I want to help children who need help."

Inbar, aged 10, is enjoying the special science "track" which sees him learn in small teams with six different teachers. He is even more ambitious, telling the audience of UJIA personnel: "I want to be prime minister."

Ruth Green, a UJIA trustee, says the connection between teachers and pupils, so visible in the relaxed, happy way they speak about each other, has created a "team spirit" at the school.

She believes that, when the teachers speak, they are "people not just doing their jobs, but who want to assist and better others' lives; people who are on a mission".

She adds: "It was about people returning or going to an area where they felt they could make a difference.

And now all of the kids at Darca Danciger feel that they can reach their potential.

"They're being encouraged by these adults, the same adults who grew up with the idea that you can't achieve things, and were determined that the next generation would not feel the same."