Schools and Youth Villages

WIZO runs five award winning residential boarding schools and youth villages which are home to hundreds of children at risk. Here they are provided with a safe place to live, emotional security and a structured educational environment.

The majority of students come from disadvantaged and low socio-economic backgrounds, new immigrant families or are children who have been neglected. Many have experienced problems at home and each one has been referred by social services. At WIZO’s Nahalal Youth Village, children at risk are integrated into classes with day-school students from the surrounding areas.

Mahut Programme

Amongst other work undertaken in WIZO Centres, The Mahut Programme supports students who are struggling academically and emotionally. Many lack basic study skills and suffer from low self-esteem and self-confidence. Teachers, specially trained in Mahut, are able to create a supportive environment for their students while providing practical skills and tools required for them to succeed. The results speak for themselves:

Elioz, 16 years old

“It helps me to sit in the Mahut Centre in a quiet room in front of a computer where nothing disturbs me (even the walls are calm) with a cup of coffee that I never manage to have the time to drink at home before I leave.

In Year 11, the aim of the lessons was to write a project for our exams. I learned all sorts of methods of work which I was not familiar with before. On the computer I learned to use information from the internet but my Mahut teacher, Leah, would not allow me to just copy it as it is, but to read it, highlight important sentences and write it using my own language.

I think my completed project was really good. This year I’m working towards my final exams. In the lesson we read over the material from class. Leah teaches me how to organise the material in structures, such as tables and teaches me how to memorise the material in preparation for the exam.”