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Feed a Child in Israel

July 1, 2006

“Half of the children in our school cannot afford to buy lunch, even though we subsidize the cost.” The school principal was speaking to us with tears in his eyes, as he described the suffering of the children, many of them Ethiopians. We walked into one of the classrooms and saw the beautiful first-grade children, and I realized that at least half of them didn’t have enough to eat. Their bright eyes so full of promise for the future beckoned, me and I knew we had to do something to help. This school is not unique. In every community in Israel there are children who don’t have enough to eat, or they are not eating a balanced diet, because starchy foods are cheap.

Bill Stevens, our Israel Operations Director, and our senior Ezra managers sat with me to discuss the problem. We all agreed that God is calling us to reach out and bless the little ones He loves.

Free School Is Not Really Free

In Israel, public school is free and compulsory. However, “free” is a misnomer. There are many costs. School books and supplies, school outings, lunches and snacks all cost extra and must be paid for by the parents. When school starts in September, inadequate family budgets will be challenged, as children prepare to go back to school. Backpacks, books, notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, scissors and more, all have to be provided.

Growing children need clothing and shoes. In families with multiple children, the burden is overwhelming. Most of the children wear hand-me-downs, carry old worn out back packs, and feel the embarrassment of being different from their more affluent classmates.

We want to help these families give their children hope for the future, good nourishing food, and respect. These children are the future of Israel. It is imperative that they receive a good education, proper nutrition for growing bodies, and hope for the future.

New! Feed a Child Program

We have decided to initiate a new section of the Adoption Program. An adopted (sponsored) child will receive the following: a hot lunch every day at school; gifts on their birthday and holidays; and in September, we will pay for school books and give each sponsored child a new backpack filled with school supplies. They will start school with new things just like their classmates, giving them a feeling of value and respect.

The sponsor will make a one-year commitment to send US $50 per month. They will receive a photo of their child and a biography giving details about the child. Our translators will translate letters between the sponsor and the child.

Equipment Needed

We have met some of the dedicated teachers, pouring their lives into the children they obviously love. They work in simple classrooms, decorating them with imagination, ingenuity, and color, but working with almost non-existent budgets. Often they pay for snacks out of their own meager salaries, so all the children can have something to eat during breaks, not just those whose parents can afford to pay for snacks.

Schools in poorer neighborhoods in Israel are woefully under equipped. The schools need computer labs. One principal told me that they would be willing to have even the most basic computers, which would be better than nothing. In today’s world, a child who doesn’t learn how to work on a computer is at a great disadvantage when entering the higher grades. Books are needed for the libraries. Playground and sports equipment would be greatly appreciated. In short, the needs are great.

Yeshua and the Children

Yeshua (Jesus) loved children and blessed them. He told the disciples, who thought His time shouldn’t be wasted, to bring the children to Him. “But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God’” (Mark 10:14, NJKV). If we turned our backs on the children now, I believe Yeshua would be greatly displeased. He wants to bless the children.

Smiles on Their Faces

Can you sponsor a child for the next year, ensuring they receive good nourishing food everyday? Your gifts will put food in their tummies, and smiles on their faces. Remember, the cost of US $50 per month will provide a hot meal every day (perhaps the only hot meal they will eat), gifts for special occasions, school books, supplies, and a backpack.

Perhaps you can only give a one-time gift. Your gift will help us to buy much needed equipment and supplies to ensure a quality education, equipping the children to enter today’s technological world. These children and their parents will never forget that Christians loved them enough to make sure they were blessed in their time of need. You can be the hands of the Lord outstretched to lift a child into His lap and give him/her a hug and a full tummy.

“Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble” (Psalm 41:1, NIV).

Blessings from Jerusalem,

Rebecca J. Brimmer
International President and CEO