Na'amat is a Jewish pre-school for ages 3 months - 3 years that serves single parents, low income families, and working parents. It was started in 1921 in Palestine and has 250 locations. The children come 5 1/2 days per week from 7:30 am until 4:00 pm. The cost per child is 600 - 2400 NIS per month, depending on the age ($170 - $680). The staff is trained and certified by the Israel Minister of Education. Private donors fund Na'amat. The children and staff seemed happy. They accept Jewish, Muslim, and Christian children.
Children learning songs
Judy, Linda, Vadra (director) and Stew. Judy and Stew made aliya to Israel 30 years ago. She was national vice president in the US prior to moving to Israel and she has volunteered for 44 years.
Playtime
Snack time
Little Van Goghs in the making
Outdoor playgound
The cook at Na'amat fixed brunch of eggs, fruit, vegetables, and bread.
Teachers Village Society is a 6 year-old organization of retired school teachers and administrators. They meet once/month and discuss how they can improve Jerusalem. One of their projects is teaching women to cook. After learning to cook, the women can sell their products. They have one cook who teaches them to bake sweets, and one cook who teaches general cooking. The classes are given over a 3 month period, 2 times each week, 10 lessons for each course. They train on Saturday and Sundays from 10 am - 3 pm. They also have 9 computers they use to teach computer skills to teachers. The retired teachers contribute to the organization and solicit donations from their friends. The group of women seemed like people who just want to help people improve their situation, just like good school teachers do.
They served the best cheese and zatar filled baked roll we have had, and delicious macaroons.
I loved learning more about Judy and Stew. They are truly generous and loving people.
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