Recovery for Japanese Elderly, One Stitch at a Time

Elderly Japanese women use donated clothing to

make slippers in a handcraft workshop, part of a

JDC-supported art therapy program for victims of

the Japan’s March 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami.

Photo: JEN, 2011. (via JDC Website)

Ms. Shoko Saito, 70, couldn't reach the evacuation site before the tsunami hit her neighborhood in Ishinomaki. Instead, she ran to the second floor of her home and watched as the unbelievable catastrophe unfurled outside her window.

"I grabbed two strangers floating on the tidal wave and saved their lives. We remained at my house until we were evacuated four days later. There I saw some of my neighbors who had managed to survive but I was in too much shock to even speak with them."

Soon afterward Ms. Saito learned that her house had sustained serious damage from the tsunami and she was forced to move to the Omori Danchi transitional shelter. "I was too depressed to figure out what to do next. That's when I happened upon the handicraft gathering for the first time."

JDC’s Israeli Children’s Post-Trauma Program Expanded to Japan

Tokyo, September 6, 2011 ― For “Yuriko,” a Japanese mother struggling to help her child overcome fears about another tsunami like the one that hit the island in March, solutions seem hard to come by. But now, through an American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) post-trauma program using a huggable plush dog named “Hibuki,” Japanese children and their families will take a step toward healing. Pioneered during the Second Lebanon War to help Israeli children overcome stress and anxiety from rocket attacks, the Hibuki program has recently been expanded to Japan by JDC experts who visited tsunami-affected regions and trained Japanese teachers, nurses and other professionals to use the sad eyed, long armed stuffed animal to “hug” children and talk through their worries.

“Our work in Israel and in places like Haiti and South Asia has demonstrated that treating trauma, especially in children affected by war or natural disaster, is a vital step towards recovery,” said Judy Amit, Global Director of JDC’s International Development Program and a clinical psychologist. “By utilizing Japan’s history of doll-play and by helping our Japanese partners tweak the Hibuki program to mesh with local cultural norms, we are working together to ensure that children here find solace in the wake of tragedy.”

The Hibuki program — whose training in Japan was carried out by JDC’s Dr. Flora Mor and Dr. Shai Hen-Gal— is based on the principle that children who actively face their stress can alleviate fears and better adapt to life after a trauma. The child is told that his/her Hibuki is scared and suffering. By working with the stuffed animal, the child transfers his/her own fears onto the doll and in fact, through the doll, helps "treat" him/herself.

To date, 50,000 Israeli children have been treated using this method and Tel Aviv University professor Avi Sadeh, in a study on the program, has noted the high rates of reduction in post-traumatic responses and distress in children. The Hibuki treatment method was developed by JDC, the Israeli Ministry of Education - Psychological Counseling Service, and the Department of Psychology at Tel Aviv University.

“There is no doubt that the Israeli presence and their experience is echoing loudly and powerfully, especially highlighting the need to implement this method in kindergartens in Japan. The JDC team showed professionalism, creativity and extraordinary adaptability, harnessing the experience gained in Israel for coping with stress and trauma to help us, here on the other side of the world. I'm full of respect and appreciation,” said Dr. Michiko Hara, founder of the Japanese Puppet Therapy Association, whose conference the JDC experts attended and participated in while in Japan.

In addition to the Hibuki program, JDC and the Jewish Community of Japan’s comprehensive and immediate response to the earthquake/tsunami has included the provision of critical emergency assistance, such as food, water, medical aid, hygiene products, blankets and tents. JDC has also furnished two schools and provided school supplies to children in the most-devastated prefectures. JDC also supported the establishment of Israel Defense Force (IDF) field hospital in Minamisanriko. To learn more, visit JDC’s Japan Relief page.

JDC’s long history of working in and with Japan includes: the rebuilding of a school in Kosovo with Japan after the 1999 conflict; working in Kobe until 1941 supporting Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler's Europe; and supporting Jewish refugees in Yokohama between 1918-20, most of whom were fleeing Russia.

JDC's non-sectarian disaster relief programs are funded by special appeals of the Jewish Federations of North America and tens of thousands of individual donors to JDC. JDC coordinates its disaster relief activities with the U.S. Department of State, USAID, Interaction, the Israel Foreign Ministry, MASHAV, Israeli relief agencies, and the United Nations. JDC gained substantial disaster expertise in Haiti in 2010 as well as in Sri Lanka, Chile, Thailand, Turkey, Indonesia, India, New Zealand and Maldives following the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004

2009 Global Symposium Panel on JDC's Response in War and Crisis - Gideon Herscher

During the JDC Ambassadors Circle Global Symposium on May 19, 2009, JDC presented a panel on how the organization responds during times of war and crisis. In this video, Gideon Herscher, Director of Field Relations discusses JDC's response in Israel's southern conflict region on the border with Gaza during Operation Cast Lead in January, 2009. (For the pictures referred to in Gideon's presentation, look below.)



Or you can watch the video on our YouTube page at this LINK

Map of the Southern Conflict Region
(Click on map to enlarge)

Building damaged by a kassam rocket

Damage caused by the kassam in an apartment of the building.

The clock stopped at the exact time the kassam hit.

Yossi, who lives in that apartment hid in the bathtub when the kassam hit because he could not get into a shelter in time. Here he participates in a pet therapy session.

Art therapy drawing done by Yossi. In the picture, is the word, 'Pachad', or fear in Hebrew. Yossi also drew a kassam falling on a person and house with no door, a very telling picture of Yossi's own feelings.

In this art therapy drawing is written the word 'Ka'as' or anger in Hebrew.

Hibuki Dolls Making a Difference for Children Living in Ashkelon

In Israel JDC works to create innovative programs that help the country’s most vulnerable citizens in coping with their daily lives, as well as to provide support in times of crisis or trauma. In the aftermath of Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s military operation in Gaza in January 2009, JDC’s impact can be felt in its trauma relief programs designed to aid children living under fire, including Hibuki, (Hebrew for Huggy doll) Trauma Intervention. These emergency response programs are possible due to the support of our federation partners across the United States.

The barrage of Kassam rocket attacks over Ashkelon and southern Israel struck the physical, emotional and economic chords of the region, causing long-term damage to the most vulnerable populations. While the region is no longer in survival mode, the war-related trauma symptoms are now surfacing with great speed amongst the region's elderly, children, economically weak and disabled residents.

Thanks to the ongoing assistance provided by JDC’s proven emergency programs in Ashkelon, and in partnership with The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore, these residents have come to rely on JDC’s expertise in child trauma relief, emergency management, community building and economic development as they recover.

As part of the Children’s Trauma Relief program, JDC introduced its Huggy Doll Trauma Intervention in Ashkelon. Known as ‘Hibuki’ in Hebrew, this entirely original intervention was created for children from Northern Israel who were in desperate need of therapeutic assistance, having been traumatized from the ongoing rocket attacks coming from Southern Lebanon. Once proven as an effective model, it was then introduced into the Southern conflict region to help yet more Israeli children suffering the outcomes of warfare.

The secret to the program's success is that it alleviates children's trauma and anxiety by transferring the therapeutic responsibility to children themselves. Using a Huggy Doll – a stuffed animal with Velcro strips on its long arms, which can 'hug' the child in various ways – as a focus, it employs self-help methods which empower children and reduce their feelings of helplessness.

(Photo from Focus on Ashekelon)

To see more photos, click on the picture above to visit FOCUS ON ASHKELON, a blog highlighting the The Ashkelon-Baltimore Partnership in Israel.

Witness Theater – Tell in Order to Live

A therapeutic and educational project for Holocaust survivors and high school students

Over a third of elderly Israelis are classified as holocaust survivors, yet despite this, few Israelis know about their personal stories and the stories of their families. Survivors often feel like they lack a safe space in which they can share and without being able to share, much of the trauma goes untreated and their tales of survival become lost.

Israel’s adolescent population, many of whom are the grandchildren, nieces and nephews of survivors, are under-educated about the Holocaust. Rather than seeing the Holocaust as something that happened to them and their families, many see it as some sort of distant historical event that has very little impact upon their own reality. These stories, shared as part of the Witness Theater and coming from those who lived them serve as a means to bring these two generations together.

Begun in 2003, Witness Theater is an 18-24 month-long process where survivors and teens from a variety of backgrounds meet in theatrical workshops that utilize drama-based therapies, special improvisational and role-playing games to relive the survivors’ stories, allowing them to revisit their tension and anxiety about their pasts in a safe space. This process continues through the writing of a play based on survivor stories, rehearsal and performances before the community, where students and survivors together dramatize these personal memories.

Through reenactment, survivors are able to process and confront painful memories while youth participants gain an understanding of the Holocaust at an emotionally visceral level.

Currently, there are Witness Theater groups in 22 locations across Israel and because of the educational opportunities inherent in the program plans are being considered for the integration of the program into the Israeli school system country-wide.



Witness Theater
Igniting the next generation to be the memorial candle

Official website (in Hebrew): www.edut.org.il 

JDC: A Lifeline In Times of Crisis

This report from a member of JDC-Israel's senior staff is a firsthand account of how JDC is working to create a lifeline to those most affected by the war in Gaza.
I remember the first time I went south during the war last week – admittedly I felt a little fearful. Three trips and two sirens later, my mind was more focused and my stomach less jittery.

We visited the JDC Havens of Calm program situated in an elementary school in Sderot. This is literally a dedicated room in the school itself that has been fitted and designated as a safe and therapeutic space in which students can freely enter and openly express their fears and worries as they receive trauma support. I met with the art therapist, the principal and the pet therapist that have been working in this haven of calm for the last 4 years. The are experiencing increased levels of behavioral and social problems, disturbances in class and trauma amongst the kids because of the rockets that land around them on a daily basis.

One girl who receives treatment in the room is extremely 'lucky' after a qassam landed right next to her house. Now she has regular episodes where she is unable to move her legs. The therapists go up to the class, massage her legs to restore partial movement and bring her to the Haven of Calm where she works with the animals or just sits and listens to music in the corner. She told the therapist "I don’t want this body anymore".

I also visited Beer Sheva, where unlike Sderot who have been rocketed for 8 years, they are relatively new to these traumatic experiences. The JDC Center for Independent Living (CIL) is a facility that identifies the need for and provides community-based services for people with disabilities. The CIL empowers its clients to live as independent a life as possible within their communities.

On December 27th, the CIL ceased all regular services and "turned on a dime" to become the emergency center for the disabled population in Beer Sheva. Student volunteers from the neighboring Ben Gurion University immediately called 750 CIL clients to check their status and needs. These volunteers have now been mobilized by CIL to deliver shopping, medicines and blankets. I have mentioned in previous updates the impossibility for the elderly and disabled to reach safe rooms before the rockets land and these volunteers were converting safe rooms into 24/7 living rooms for disabled clients by moving food, water bottles, beds and TV's into the bomb shelters.

Roi, a volunteer student for CIL, is a 25 year old psychology and philosophy student. He took me to the home of Mazal who is 53 years old and totally bedridden. Mazal has no bomb shelter or protected room so our task was to make one of the rooms as 'safe' as possible and equip the room with every necessity she might need. Her son is mentally disabled and visits her regularly but was unable to set up the room appropriately. It is incredibly depressing thinking of Mazal living through siren after siren but at least her son is able to be with her – unlike many others who have no-one.

When I asked why Roi stays in Beer Sheva and doesn't return to his home town of Acco he told me "In the summer of 2006, my home town was rocketed from the North and we were so reliant on the volunteers who came to help us from around the country. How can I leave now and not give back what I received?"

Despite the gloom, every cloud does have its silver lining. I have witnessed amazing things and inspirational people arise from this emergency. Whether it be new services, creative partnerships, additional duties, fresh character or advanced strategic thinking all lying latent that have been brought to the surface by this war. I live in hope that some good will come out of this terribly dark time.

TZEVA ADOM - CODE RED SIREN: Drawings by the Children of Sderot and JDC's Response to Trauma

A recent study shows that one in three children living in Sderot suffers from post traumatic stress:

From Haaretz.com:
January 17, 2008
by Mijal Grinberg and Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondents

Between 75 and 94 percent of Sderot children aged 4-18 exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress, says Natal, the Israel Center for the Victims of Terror and War.

Natal's study, set to be released in the coming days, was based on a representative sample. The study found 28 percent of adults and 30 percent of children in Sderot have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The study was conducted by Dr. Rony Berger, Director of Natal's Community Services Department, and Dr. Marc Gelkopf, with the assistance of pollster Dr. Mina Tzemach.

The town of Sderot and the Western Negev as a whole have been subject to a barrage of rockets launched by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip for over seven years.

Code Red Drawings by Sderot Children
When asked to talk about their feelings due to the violent Kassam rocket attacks perpetuated on their town every day, the children of Sderot displayed enormous emotional stress through their words and drawings.

By Noga in 5th Grade

When there is Code Red I feel helpless
because I know I don’t have many options
to be saved. Our three story house is made
of plaster and I live on the 3rd floor.
When I hear the alert, my heart drops to
the floor.

“Kids are under such stress that in some instances they cannot envision themselves within this horrific reality” - Tali, Therapist

JDC Working to Help the Children Living with Trauma
With the generous support of Jewish Community Federations across North America and UJC Israel Emergency Campaign, JDC is helping the children of Sderot and its surrounding communities with several responses:

Chibuki (Huggy Puppy)
Young children become "mini-counselors" to a huggy puppy, allowing them to express all their own fears and anxieties by acting as if the feelings belong to the puppy. By caring for their huggy puppy, kids transfer their fears to Chibuki and are better able to cope with their anxieties.

The Chibuki program was originally developed by a team of psychologists during the Second Lebanon War in 2006 then replicated in Sderot. The program will be expanded/re-activated in all kindergartens in Ashkelon, Sderot and the surrounding area as soon as schools are re-opened.

Havens of Calm
Special rooms in schools, called Havens of Calm, are set aside as a place for children to safely express their fears and anxieties about the situation. Children are able to come to these rooms during the school day, either individually or with their entire class as a 'field trip', and work with therapists in coping with life under the threat of missiles.

Code Red Song
(for more information and lyrics, please click on the link)
At the sound of the Code Red siren, children were becoming hysterical. Often times, they were paralyzed with fear and unable to run for shelter. JDC, working with teachers in Sderot, developed the Code Red Song to not only teach the children what to do when the alarm is sounded, but to make them feel comfortable with the fear and anxiety the alarm provokes within them.

JDC distributed cds of this uplifting children’s song to parents and teachers. Currently, the song is taught to school children and has quickly become a source of comfort for them.



JDC’s programs are supported primarily by contributions to the annual campaigns of the Jewish Community Federations throughout North America in partnership with United Jewish Communities (UJC)

JDC-ISRAEL: Update from Jerusalem

From Arnon Mantver, Director of JDC-Israel:
The Gaza War

Shalom all,
Yesterday an officer from the paratroopers was wounded very badly. He got married two days before he was called to fight in Gaza. This underscores the three "circles" of people who are really hurting in this war: the soldiers themselves; the parents, wives, siblings of the soldiers; and the residents living down south. We are praying for the first two groups and continue to work with our partners to bring comfort and care to the last group.

Easing the Trauma of the Children
The Chibuki program was devised during the Second Lebanon War to alleviate stress among pre-schoolers and was later replicated to Sderot and the surrounding areas. The young children become "mini-counselors" to a huggy puppy, allowing them to express all their own fears and anxieties by acting as if the feelings belong to the puppy.

We have re-activated the program for about 120 children who are currently attending pre-school in protected buildings or shelters. One of the psychologists which works with the program reported that the "graduates" of Chibuki jumped right into the play-therapy, explaining how they had been sleeping with Chibuki to keep him calm, had taught him to go toward a protected area when the "red alert" is sounded.

Those who received their first Chibuki took time to get to know him and to listen to his worries and fears. In one of the kindergartens, the teacher took the children and Chibuki on a virtual tour of the neighborhood, stopping at each child's home. The program will be expanded/re-activated in all kindergartens in Ashkelon, Sderot and the surrounding area as soon as school resumes and with the generous assistance of the UJC.

Corporate Philanthropy Leverages Youth Volunteerism
IDB, Israel's largest holding company, also boasts one of Israel's most active corporate Foundations. JDC works hand in hand with the Foundation on a number of key programs in the community, and also works to promote corporate philanthropy throughout Israel via Matan, Israel's version of United Way.

Supersol, Israel's biggest supermarket chain which is owned by IDB, launched an initiative which allows Israeli consumers to purchase a variety items at half-price and to have them packaged and sent to an Israeli soldier directly from their local supermarket branch. IDB asked JDC to activate AMEN youth volunteers to pack the boxes, address them and include personal letters from the sender. Because AMEN exists in 45 locations and includes more than 50,000 teenagers, it was easy to mobilize them quickly and efficiently for this program. More than 500 volunteers are in 40 Supersol branches getting the packages out to soldiers serving in Gaza and the number grows each day.

Other AMEN volunteers are providing activities for children in shelters, hosting children and youth from the south in communities in the Center and North of the country, collecting donations to create activity kits for children in shelters and providing warm clothing for soldiers.

The Federation Response
A group of Federation leaders was here in Israel on a solidarity mission this week under the auspices of UJC. Yesterday they visited JDC's Supportive Community for the Elderly in Ashkelon to see how this program – which was established long before anyone envisioned missiles hitting the city -- is helping elderly who live in their own homes to cope with the current crisis.

John Ruskay reported experiencing a "Red Alert" during the visit as follows:
"We were listening to our colleague, Dr. Yitzhak Brick, director of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) programs in Israel for the elderly, explain how JDC has expanded its services, in partnership and at the request of Israel’s government, to serve the elderly during the war in Gaza. As Dr. Brick outlined JDC’s efforts to contact and identify the needs of every elderly or disabled Israeli person in Ashkelon and the other 25 cities and communities in the south, the sirens began. We immediately and quickly left the room and scurried down the stairs to protected areas in the basement. As we waited three minutes for the "all clear," a JDC staffer asked us to imagine what this must feel like for the elderly and disabled who can't leave rooms quickly — who can't get down those stairs."

It's very encouraging to us that the Federation leadership comes to Israel to experience and understand the situation here and how difficult it is for the most vulnerable populations which the Federations help via JDC. We are also extremely encouraged by UJC's $10M campaign for the South, a portion of which will enable us to expand the Supportive Community program to another 25,000 elderly in towns under attack.

Wishing for an effective resolution of the crisis and the speedy return of all IDF soldiers,
Arnon

Situation Update: Children Caught in the Crossfire

A briefing from Steven Schwager, Executive Vice President
January 5, 2009

JDC stands shoulder to shoulder with the citizens of Israel during this crisis—as we have since we started working in Eretz Yisrael 95 years ago—and will do what is needed to help the most vulnerable who remain in distress in the southern conflict zone. In this update, we offer you some insight into the experiences of the region’s youngest residents.

As schools within missile range of Gaza remain closed, children across the southern conflict zone are confined to their homes. Spending days away from their friends and the routine of everyday life, the adverse long term effect on youngsters is mounting—a major concern. The following accounts paint a picture of the intense plight of the children living under fire, and the special power of volunteer efforts to provide some reprieve from their stress.

Children: Out of School, Steeped in Fear
Merchav is an extended school day program serving 1,800 children from at-risk families in Ashkelon. With schools closed, JDC’s school-based programs serving children in the region are currently on standby. Program staff are nonetheless endeavoring to stay in touch with families, and they are hearing stories that all deliver the same message: Children are suffering from the ongoing tension.

The following story was shared by the parent of a Merchav child:

“We live in a very small apartment in Ashkelon which has no secure room or shelter. The Home Command instructs families like ours to get out of their apartment and into the stairwell of the building within 15 seconds of hearing the warning siren, and then to return home after the ‘boom.’ But this last week there have been so many rockets that the sirens have been going off constantly and my two children refuse to return to our apartment out of fear.

It is winter and very cold, and the stairwell is no place for children to stay. I got very frustrated with them, trying to convince them that they should come back to our home, but by the time they agreed, the siren went off again and we had to stay where we were.

My nine-year-old daughter cries all the time, and she understandably refuses to be in the apartment alone. I myself am very afraid to go out… I am very confused now and don’t know how much longer I can handle living this way.”

JDC recognizes that when schools reconvene, we will need to be appropriately prepared to help these children overcome and process the trauma brought about by this crisis.

JDC Volunteers: Offering a Welcome Diversion for Sderot Children
Many ongoing JDC programs, both during peacetime and in an emergency, incorporate volunteer components that empower target populations. Today, in the southern conflict zone, many such volunteers are being mobilized to provide needed assistance to local residents.

In response to a week of heavy attacks, student volunteers from JDC’s Mishol program—which promotes community solidarity in distressed areas—have opened an activity club to serve children in three Sderot neighborhoods.

The club aims to ensure that children are safe and constructively occupied during the crisis. The student volunteers sometimes spend the night in the shelters with the youngsters, under the guise of a “pajama party.”

Creative crafts and circle games like musical chairs keep children busy—but it’s not all fun and games for this crew of young adults, who need to ensure that everyone gets along in a confined space, for as many as 12 hours a day, in a time of intense fear.

Zohar and Tehilla, two volunteers from this JDC program, offer a glimpse into the experiences of their young charges:

“We were amazed to see how the children— though obviously frightened—function during this time of crisis. They can distinguish between the noise of kassam rockets and the din of explosions in Gaza, and can even identify Israel Defense Force (IDF) planes based on their sound.

“It is clear that this wartime experience is having an indelible impact on them. Today, we saw children play war games with paper airplanes, or pretend a red alert has sounded, even when all is quiet.

“We are convinced that opening the shelter-based club was important; the children were here almost non-stop from 9:00 am till 7:00 pm. The parents were grateful that the children were able to get out of the house. This reprieve enabled them to do errands or simply relax knowing that the children were safe.”

JDC’s historic infrastructure in Israel and longstanding partnership with the Government of Israel positions us to support those communities that find themselves caught in the crossfire of the southern conflict zone. We will continue to update you on JDC’s activities, always with the hope that there will be a peaceful resolution.

Situation Update: Israel's Southern Conflict Zone

JDC At Work - January 1, 2009

Map of Conflict Region -Click on the map to enlarge

Breaking news:
The government of Israel’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Services has launched, in partnership with JDC, an emergency plan for all elderly and disabled within 40 kilometers of current missile range in the South. The immediate effort will be supported in cooperation with JDC, currently planned for 3 months. The program will include:

• One fulltime caseworker for every 120 elderly and disabled. This person will be responsible for establishing daily contact, troubleshooting and problem solving all outstanding needs among this vulnerable population.
• Providing post trauma and stress relief sessions for elderly and their caregivers
• Organizing short vacations for those in conflict zone
• A welfare information hotline

Through JDC's citywide intervention programs in the town of Kiryat Gat, we are preparing emergency operations and activities for children in the event that schools will be closed for an extended period of time.

The Sderot Community Center, which caters to a large population of immigrants from Ethiopia, is now fully operational from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm every day.

Mapping of shelters: Assessing what equipment is needed, any repairs or problems, etc. and sending that information to the municipality to ensure all public shelters are ready.

Organizing groups of children to visit Kibbutz Ruchama, located east of Sderot, for “fun days” away from the stress of the conflict.

Due to the extended closing of schools in the region, JDC is helping to facilitate trips to the north of the country for hundreds of children from conflict zone.

In cooperation with the government, JDC is hiring full time case managers to assist elderly and disabled persons within the 40 km (approximately 24-25 miles) missile zone. Based on JDC’s supportive community for the elderly model, each case manager will be directly responsible for all disabled and elderly community members within a certain area of the 40 km zone. Their job will be to visit, reach out, and problem solve for all outstanding needs among these two vulnerable populations.

Outstanding Needs among Ethiopian-Israeli families in Sderot:

• Supplies for community bomb shelters (toilet paper, games for children, etc.)
• Providing a team of psychologists to work with children and youth
• Constant contact with families to calm them and assess needs that arise
• Opening ‘safe rooms’ to staff and residents who do not have a protected space in their own homes
• Mobilizing Ethiopian-Israeli liaisons to translate emergency instructions into Amharic (the native language of the Ethiopian-Israeli community)

JDC’s Centers for Young Adults in the region:

• The Center for Young Adults in Ashdod is actively enlisting volunteers to assist in various capacities throughout the city
• The staff of the Center for Young Adults in Netivot has transformed their main offices into a ‘Situation Room’ for coordination with Israel Defense Forces, police and the municipality

(Centers for Young Adults serve as a central platform for launching projects to help young immigrants. Centers provide a wide range of counseling and orientation services under one roof, including guidance regarding higher education and vocational training; job skills and life skills.)

People with Disabilities:

• Distribution of 15 disabled-accessible portable toilet systems for shelters in Sderot – this system was developed by JDC, based on a needs assessment conducted after the Second Lebanon War
• Supportive Communities for the Disabled in Sderot – The Community Coordinator position was extended from part-time to full-time to ensure members’ needs are met
• In Sderot, disabled community members are benefiting from 400 emergency lights that were distributed several months ago

Youth Volunteer Corps (AMEN program):
Youth in the north of Israel are organizing activities for their peers in the South including care packages, games, and facilitating direct shipping to children across the region

For more information, please contact ambassadors@jdc.org or go to the JDC website, www.jdc.org.

Situation Update: JDC's Response in the Southern Conflict Region

Map of Conflict Region -Click on the map to enlarge

UPDATE - December 29:
It is now in day two of missile barrages in Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and the Gaza Border Region.

Over 60 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel since Monday morning (Israel time) - nine of which hit Ashkelon, five struck Sderot and four others struck various towns in the western Negev, including a tragic fatality in the town of Netivot.

Two Katyusha rockets exploded near Ashdod on Sunday. More than 18 miles from Gaza and north of the city of Ashkelon, this was the deepest into Israel a Palestinian rocket has yet to strike. These new rockets now have a range of up to 24 miles. Today has already claimed another life, this time in the city of Ashkelon—with an additional 14 wounded.

Senior staff members of JDC are travelling down to Sderot at this moment, and will be meeting with the Mayor to assess immediate needs in the region.

JDC: Responding to Emergency Needs in the Southern Conflict Zone
Since 2000, JDC has worked to help the region's communities cope with the challenges of constant attack by providing support to the most vulnerable sectors – elderly, Israelis with disabilities, children and new immigrants – and working to enhance the capacity of local governments and NGOs to assist residents. JDC works in partnership with the Israeli government and local agencies to provide both emergency and non-emergency services.

JDC honed its expertise in providing emergency respite and trauma relief programs for vulnerable Israelis during and after the Second Lebanon War in 2006. Emergency programs for communities in the southern Israel were developed and implemented through UJC’s and UJC’s Israel Emergency Campaign funding.

These funds, which have offered comfort and security where it is most needed, are now depleting. Their scope and impact has become limited – and in some cases, has ceased altogether. In the past 24 hours, JDC has been made aware of increasing numbers of people and municipalities in need of urgent assistance. This ‘rationing’ of services comes about even as trauma experts, JDC staff, local professionals and residents repeatedly testify to these programs’ effectiveness and ability to generate improvement and impact, even under impossible circumstances.

In preparing for the recent events in Israel’s Southern Region, JDC has mapped out responses to the following scenarios.

Possible Scenarios
1. Current Level of Attacks: Continued rocket fire, at its present level, would require increased activity in existing programs for all vulnerable populations living in the range of fire.

2. Increased Level of Attacks: In the case of escalated attacks JDC will provide multi-day respite vacations for vulnerable individuals – specifically 3,000 elderly and 3,000 people with severe physical and mental disabilities along with their caregivers. For those populations who will not be part of these respite activities, JDC will also operate trauma-relief programs and activities for children and families in bomb shelters.

3. Region-Wide Evacuation: Should the current situation develop into a major military operation requiring region-wide evacuation of Israeli citizens, JDC will work in coordination with the Israeli government to provide the necessary relief.

JDC Programs
1. Improving the Region’s Crisis Management Capacity – JDC is improving the region’s ability to respond to residents’ needs through the implementation of what are now two proven program models: YUVAL, which boosts the organizational resilience of first-response emergency crews; and MATOV, which improves municipality’s coordination with local nonprofits and community organizations in providing relief and care. A JDC Emergency Response Consultant works with the city’s top leadership in mapping needs and existing resources to enhance response time and effectiveness. Given the reality of the past 24 hours, with a widened area now in the fire zone, there is a need to expand JDC's ongoing emergency-response consultation.

2. Children - JDC established educational and psychological programs to help the region's children cope with and overcome their trauma, and to allow for their continued academic and social development. These include afternoon enrichment programs; training and support for psychologists, teachers and counselors; post-traumatic therapy; support programs for children with special needs; equipping school facilities; and creating Havens of Calm, facilities within schools for children requiring trauma support, a space where they can go for comfort and to safely express their fears.

Notably, JDC introduced its Hibbuki and Red Color Song Programs to help alleviate children's stress as well as identify and treat severe trauma cases. The ‘Hibbuki’ (Huggy) doll, a stuffed animal with Velcro strips on its long arms, works by actually ‘hugging’ and transferring therapeutic responsibility to children. The Red Color Song helps youngsters cope with the stress of repeated Red Color alerts, which signal the need to seek immediate refuge in a secure area.

As the situation escalates, the reality becomes more painful: JDC needs the wherewithal to work in far more locations that it already does.

3. Physical Security - JDC has helped strengthen the security and building infrastructure at Elderly Daycare Centers and other key facilities serving vulnerable populations.

4. Respite Care - for elderly residents and residents with disabilities. Working with local partners to identify those most in need of respite, JDC has provided these individuals with a much-needed break from the anxiety and danger of constant shelling. The day-trips and short breaks in hotels around the country include guided day tours and psychological support.

5. Helping the Helpers (YUVAL) - JDC has developed additional supportive services for professionals serving vulnerable populations working in the conflict region through the YUVAL program. These services, which include labor augmentation, respite and post-trauma workshops, have helped professionals cope with their incredibly stressful workload as they provide invaluable services to their constituents.

6. Boosting the Regional Economy - In addition to the psychological and physical damage, the escalation is also dealing a harsh economic blow to the region. JDC's Employment Initiative, TEVET, has cooperated with organizations in southern Israel including the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Small and Medium Enterprises Authority and the Small Business Development Center (MATI) to boost the region's small business sector.

Situation Update from Steve Schwager, CEO - Israel's Southern Conflict Zone

December 29, 2008:
On Friday, December 19, 2008, Hamas significantly escalated its rocket and mortar attacks on southern Israel. More than 100,000 Israelis are living with the daily terror that strikes with the warning sirens they hear in Sderot, Ashkelon, Netivot, and the Gaza border region.

This past Saturday, December 27, 2008, Israel launched an attack in the Gaza strip and the violence against Israeli communities in the region has significantly intensified. I want to share how we are preparing to expand current projects or launch new comprehensive emergency programs to deliver the help and relief needed by the most vulnerable populations during this conflict -- the elderly, those with disabilities, children and new immigrants.

Presently, our response will focus on immediate trauma response, municipal crisis management preparation and training, and temporary respite outside the region for the most vulnerable populations.

In the past two days, JDC was informed of an increasing number of people and municipalities in need of urgent assistance. Given the current reality with a widened area now in the fire zone, there is a need, among other key programs, to expand JDC's ongoing emergency-response consultation to additional local municipalities charged with caring for their residents.

As always, JDC is coordinated with the United Jewish Communities (UJC) and the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). We are already working in the field in close partnership with the Government of Israel -- reaching out to meet the urgent needs which have emerged as a result of this crisis. Emergency programs for communities in the southern Israel were developed and implemented through UJC/IEC funding.

For many years we have helped the region's communities to cope with the constant attacks by providing support to the most vulnerable people -- and by working to enhance the capacity of local governments and NGOs to assist these populations. JDC further developed its expertise in providing emergency respite and trauma relief programs for vulnerable Israelis during and after the Second Lebanon War.

We will keep you informed of the situation. Updates will be posted on the JDC website (www.JDC.org) as well.

We pray that this crisis will end quickly and that peace will prevail.

Steve

Red Color Song - Trauma Intervention in Sderot

The Situation:

Since 2000, hundreds of Kassam rockets have struck the Gaza border region, claiming lives, damaging property, undermining businesses and incalculably harming residents' morale and psychological well-being. Normal life has been put on hold and everyone living in the region, from Sderot to Ashkelon, lives in constant fear.

Because the missiles fall daily, the Israeli government developed a warning system called ‘Code Red’ or Tzeva Adom. When a rocket is launched, a voice comes over the loudspeakers throughout the region saying “Tzeva Adom, Tzeva Adom”, “Code Red, Code Red”. At this point people know they have fifteen seconds to seek shelter. Fifteen seconds to stop whatever they are doing and find a place to protect themselves.

The stress of living under such circumstances is immense for an adult, to imagine what it is like for a young child is almost unfathomable. According to studies conducted in the region, 90% of children between the ages of 4-18 exhibit signs of post-traumatic stress syndrome. Children were afraid to go outside, to walk alone to school or even to take a shower, fearing the Code Red alert. They became hysterical at the sound. Often times they were paralyzed with fear and unable to run for shelter.

In order to help children cope with this constant tension, JDC’s Ashalim division, a partnership between JDC, the Israeli Government and the UJA Federation of New York working on behalf of children in Israel, developed a series of therapies, including the Code Red Song. This song, sung when the Code Red alert is sounded, teaches the children what to do when the alarm goes off, but also helps them deal with their emotional reactions to the sound and the situation.

The song combines lyrics that allow the children to express their anxiety and fear with hand and body movements that help distract their minds to something more positive.

JDC distributed CDs of this uplifting children’s song to parents and teachers. The song is taught and used in the schools and has quickly become a source of comfort for the children living in the Southern confrontation zone.

To listen to the song and hear from the children and teachers themselves, please watch the YouTube video above.

The Lyrics: (translated from Hebrew)

Hurry hurry hurry to a safe place
Hurry hurry hurry because it’s dangerous
My heart is beating – boom boom boom
My body is shaking – doom doom doom
But I am overcoming
Cause I am a little bit different

Falling down – boom
We may now stand up
We shake our body - shake shake shake
We loosen our legs - loosen loosen loosen
We will breathe in deep
We will blow out as far as possible
We will breathe in deep
We can laugh
It’s all gone
And I feel good it’s over
Yesssss!