Yemin Orde, the youth village housing around 500 students in the Carmel mountains.

 

Dear Friends,   As you have surely heard, on 2nd December 2010, a massive wildfire broke out in the Carmel region of Israel, just south of Haifa, and was finally brought under control only on 5th December, after causing much damage to lives and property.   Among the villages severely affected by the blaze was Yemin Orde, the youth village housing around 500 students in the Carmel mountains. Around 40% of the Village was destroyed in the flames, including the living quarters of students and staff, a house providing a family atmosphere for a group of orphaned children from the former Soviet Union, the library and many others, as well as extensive damage to the infrastructure, electricity lines etc. Now Yemin Orde needs help to rebuild and recover.   Thankfully, none of the students or staff were harmed physically, the Village was evacuated safely and is being hosted by a sister youth village at Neve Amiel for the time being. However, those evacuated lost their belongings, and, for many, their only home.   The initial response to pleas for help has been overwhelming, with individuals and businesses alike donating all manner of items - clothing, furniture, white goods - to assist those who lost their homes. But the cost of rebuilding what has been lost, both the physical structure of the Village and the task of reinstilling a sense of security in children who have had their entire lives pulled out from under their feet - and for a lot of them this is not the first time this has happened - is still tremendous. The Village does have fire insurance but not enough to cover the entire scope of the loss.   I am writing to you as a graduate of Wingate Golan group 4, a project which brought me and many of my friends from KDHS, Liverpool and JFS, London, to Yemin Orde for 5 months in our mid teens. Through this I built strong ties with the village itself. Sixteen years since I first set foot in the Village, I am still in contact with several of my friends from there, and personally felt a lump in my throat when I heard of the fire, and saw pictures of the damage.   Any donations that can be sent toward restoring Yemin Orde as a school and as a solid base for children who have no other support will be very much appreciated. Circulating this message to contacts who may be willing to donate would also be of great help. To donate from UK: visithttp://www.justgiving.com/Youth-Aliyah-Yemin-Orde Please contact me about donation methods in US, Israel and elsewhere. Thank you,   Rachel Graham-Sonnino Former Head Girl, King David High School, Liverpool Graduate, Wingate Golan 4 (1995)  Rachelsonnino@gmail.com