{"id":26071,"date":"2017-09-29T03:56:28","date_gmt":"2017-09-29T10:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=26071"},"modified":"2017-09-28T09:02:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-28T16:02:51","slug":"krembo-wings-unites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2017\/09\/29\/krembo-wings-unites\/","title":{"rendered":"Krembo Wings unites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Members of Krembo Wings\u2019 Kiryat Shmona branch enjoy one of the weekly activities. (photo from Krembo Wings)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Claudia Koby co-founded Krembo Wings, the only youth movement open to all youth, regardless of ability level. It was her son, Kfir, who inspired her \u2013 seeing him battle severe disabilities and his intense desire to be part of society at large.<\/p>\n

Kfir\u2019s friendship with a girl without disabilities changed his and his family\u2019s life to such a degree that his mother decided to find a way to give other kids with disabilities and their families the same simple but incredible gift.<\/p>\n

Krembo Wings was established in 2002, growing to 11 branches serving 300 kids by 2010. That was when Merav Boaz (affectionately nicknamed \u201cBoozy\u201d) joined as vice-president. To date, the movement has 61 chapters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I could give a lot from my knowledge and experience, to make the movement known in the public eyes and ears … a new idea that was not in existence in Israeli society before,\u201d Boaz told the Independent<\/em>. \u201cI wanted everybody to know what the Krembo Wings are doing, to see how well they change the world and society. It was like a fire in my heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I joined, almost no one knew about Krembo Wings\u2026. Today, the movement has 6,000 kids involved \u2013 from the special needs kids to the able kids that help them be part of a life-changing movement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the kids who run the branches, guided by adults. We give them the power to do so. It\u2019s a lot of thinking to make it happen \u2013 to do the seminars really productively, to make them understand they can create their own reality. I think that, because of the kids, we\u2019ve made this breakthrough, this change. From a local initiative, we became a national youth movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

When someone has a child with a disability, said Boaz, one of the parents usually stops working and starts taking care of the child, \u201cthey look for treatment and doctors to make things better.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the parents take their child to register in kindergarten, she said, \u201cThey tell you he doesn\u2019t fit, that he can\u2019t be with other children \u2013 the \u2018regular,\u2019 \u2018normal\u2019 children \u2013 because of the disability. From this point on, you have a kid who leads a different life within the shawl of society. They don\u2019t belong and are not a part of the kids\u2019 society \u2013 don\u2019t go to school with their brothers and sisters, don\u2019t enjoy the after-school programs\u2026. A lot of the parents don\u2019t take the kids outside to the mall or to caf\u00e9s because of their different behaviour, like slapping hands or making noises. You feel that it\u2019s not right that you\u2019re there\u2026. All of a sudden, you have a kid who doesn\u2019t have a right to take part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Often, children in this situation are sent to a different school. In Israel, the school is usually not in the same neighbourhood or city where they live. So, they do not make many friends and, when they become adults, few people will hire them, because no one knows them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are we so surprised that no one will hire a person with a disability?\u201d asked Boaz. \u201cThey don\u2019t know how, were never shown how. We want to change that one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the next school established in Israel will be a school with kids of all abilities. We won\u2019t have special education schools separated\u2026. We want the kids to go to the same school and do after-school programs\u2026. When they grow together, they will live together in the same community and care for one another. Then, it won\u2019t be hard for a hospital, for example, to hire a secretary who is blind.\u201d<\/p>\n

The disability does not need to \u2013 and should not \u2013 define the person, she said. And this is where Krembo Wings helps.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good for them to know other kids, to know and develop social skills, and be part of society,\u201d said Boaz. \u201cHow would they know how to behave in a caf\u00e9 or at a playground if they\u2019ve never even tried it, practised it, because they\u2019re separated?\u201d<\/p>\n

Boaz shared the story of a dad from Krembo Wings\u2019 summer camp who has twin girls, one of whom was born with cerebral palsy and has difficulty walking, so she uses a wheelchair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they go out together, nobody would even notice or try to talk to the twin in the wheelchair, because \u2013 automatically \u2013 people think she\u2019s not well in her brain,\u201d said Boaz. \u201cNobody is patient enough to talk to her. No kid stops to get to know her. But, at Krembo Wings, everyone knows her. She has so many friends now, but never in her life did she have friends before. She says, \u2018Krembo Wings is my life. It\u2019s where I\u2019m loved by other kids.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

When kids come to Krembo Wings once a week, they feel a sense of belonging, they sing songs and play together.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen you accept, you don\u2019t hate. When you don\u2019t judge, you\u2019re tolerant of others, you become more forgiving.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cYou can see how they don\u2019t judge, they include \u2013 not because the teacher told them and not because they read it on the walls of the school,\u201d said Boaz. \u201cThey practise it and it becomes a part of their souls, lives and values. When you accept, you don\u2019t hate. When you don\u2019t judge, you\u2019re tolerant of others, you become more forgiving.\u201d<\/p>\n

The children without disabilities help ensure that their mentees take part in activities. \u201cThey learn to be creative, to work with the ability that each person has,\u201d said Boaz, and this \u201cimproves their skills and their school success. They are better friends to \u2026 friends, to their parents. It\u2019s amazing. Imagine them as grown adults in society \u2013 they will care more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents of children who aren\u2019t able to communicate at Krembo Wings say how big the impact is \u2013 their kids do better at school, have more self-esteem and improved communication \u2013 from being in an environment of acceptance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a 16-year-old counselor, able-bodied, who wrote an email saying that, at school, they asked him to write an essay about the person who has influenced his life the most,\u201d said Boaz. \u201cAnd, he was thinking of his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor, who was a kid when the Nazis came to Poland. He lost all of his family, but he survived. Then he thought about his mom, who had breast cancer \u2013 a survivor, too. But, he decided to write about [another] person who influenced his life, because he learned from him what the meaning of being a hero is \u2013 of knowing how to deal with tough situations, to be resourceful, smart, full of life and always positive. That person\u2019s name is Don and he\u2019s 10 years old. He has severe cerebral palsy. He tries every day to get up and walk. He tries to practise how to talk with a speech therapist every day, because he wants to be understood. The 16-year-old said that Don taught him the most how to be a hero \u2013 disability or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

For brothers and sisters of children with special needs who are in Krembo Wings, Boaz said, \u201cThey say that, for them, it\u2019s the first time they\u2019re not ashamed to be the brother or sister of a kid with a disability. One girl wouldn\u2019t invite people to her house. Her brother would make gestures no one could understand. She said she prevented her friends from coming to her house. She didn\u2019t want them to know. With Krembo Wings near her house, the youth came to meet him and she saw two girls her age, able-bodied, good-looking, popular, talking to her brother, communicating. She said she was shocked. When her brother started going to Krembo Wings, he came back so relaxed, so happy, like he had had a break. She felt it \u2013 the missing piece in his life was filled…. When she came to Krembo Wings and joined in, she had members to mediate activities and, through her connections to another mentee child, she got closer to her own brother\u2026. She learned how to communicate, to be tolerant, to listen \u2013 and that it\u2019s OK if he\u2019s like that…. She now knows he has the right to be a part of society and she has the tools to help change things\u2026. More than they have a right, there\u2019s so much they can give to society.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe this change starts with kids. But, it also changes the parents … these same parents who had problems finding a kindergarten. As one of the mothers shared, for the past 15 years, she has been told how her kid does not fit in anywhere, yet no one could tell her where he does fit. All of a sudden, there are Krembo Wings \u2026 kids pleading with her to let them take her son to an activity. We pay for transportation, pick them up for three hours and return him satisfied, happy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a mother crying, saying the counselor told her she could go do whatever she wanted to do, that they would take care of her kid. She said, \u2018I don\u2019t remember what I like to do, how to be alone without her … I\u2019m always taking care of everything … I don\u2019t have friends anymore.\u2019 It changes [a] parent\u2019s life as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis platform is not only good with or without special needs, it\u2019s good for any society. If it\u2019s not Jewish and Arab, it\u2019s Bedouin and Christian. The kids get tools and values they need. It just happens. It\u2019s more natural for kids than separation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When Krembo Wings wanted to open a branch in Lod, city officials recommended they open two branches to avoid mixing Arabs and Jews, but Krembo Wings refused, saying they do not believe in separation of any kind. The city officials conceded and said they could try, but to not expect it to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe opened one and it was a big success,\u201d said Boaz. \u201cSo, this platform is not only good with or without special needs, it\u2019s good for any society. If it\u2019s not Jewish and Arab, it\u2019s Bedouin and Christian. The kids get tools and values they need. It just happens. It\u2019s more natural for kids than separation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vancouver connection<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Kiryat Shmona branch was started in the nearby mechina<\/em> (pre-army training program) in kibbutz Maayan Baruch before the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver took it under its wing, providing space in Kiryat Shmona\u2019s Beit Vancouver for the branch to run its activities. The Federation has also provided funding of $26,000 a year for the last two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were so sensitive toward the kids\u2019 needs and really understood,\u201d said Boaz. \u201cWhen you have donors, sometimes the donor \u2013 out of good will \u2013 starts interfering with the way you deal with the activity or the money or whatever \u2013 but Vancouver never did that.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Candace Kwinter, chair of Jewish Federation\u2019s Israel and overseas committee, \u201cKrembo Wings is an incredible program. It enables every child living with any type of disability to take part in enjoyable\u00a0social interactions between one another and their able-bodied peers and become part of community life in Israel. As a federation, we\u2019re proud to support this program, which is based in Beit Vancouver, and empower both the participants and the volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kwinter quoted one of the mothers of Krembo Wings in Kiryat Shmona, whose daughter has Rhett syndrome. \u201cWhen Tom was invited to join Krembo Wings,\u201d said the mother, \u201cI tried to explain to the young counselors that it\u2019s difficult to interact with her…. She doesn\u2019t speak and interactions are complicated\u2026. They continued smiling and said that they believe it will be worth our while, that the activities are fun and there are a lot of other children and youth at the branch, with and without disabilities. I said yes, even though I was confident they would give up quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, after Krembo Wings has been in our lives for almost two years, I can confidently say that, where therapists and professionals failed, a group of motivated youth filled with faith and love have succeeded. They have filled Tom\u2019s life with happiness, friends, laughter and songs \u2013 and have made our lives infinitely better…. It is an essential part of our family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with a budget of 22 million shekels (more than $7.7 million Cdn) and 61 branches, Krembo Wings has long waiting lists and not enough money to open new branches. Half of its revenue comes from the Israeli government and municipalities and the fees they collect from members who are able to pay; they subsidize everyone who cannot pay. The other half of the budget comes from fundraising. For more information, visit e.krembo.org.il<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rebeca Kuropatwa<\/strong> is a Winnipeg freelance writer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Members of Krembo Wings\u2019 Kiryat Shmona branch enjoy one of the weekly activities. (photo from Krembo Wings) Claudia Koby co-founded Krembo Wings, the only youth movement open to all youth, regardless of ability level. It was her son, Kfir, who inspired her \u2013 seeing him battle severe disabilities and his intense desire to be part […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26073,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4329,4],"tags":[7415,2850,2777,4330,3649,7413,7414],"class_list":["post-26071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-israel","category-local","tag-candace-kwinter","tag-disabilities","tag-inclusion","tag-israel","tag-jewish-federation","tag-krembo-wings","tag-merav-boaz"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}