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Children Are the Future

July 1, 2016

Ten years ago we started the Feed a Child Program to give children from low social economic backgrounds the opportunity to succeed in school. Today we work with 10 schools, helping 400 children. We provide them with a new backpack filled with textbooks, notebooks, a water bottle, a pencil kit filled with useful items and other goodies; in fact everything they will need for the school year. They receive a hot lunch every school day. We give them after-school enrichment programs and pay for the participants to go on all school outings. We are investing in the future of children. We are changing their perception of Christians from ones who persecute to those who bless.

I often say that while we can’t change the past, with all of the pain the Jewish people have suffered, we can change the future. The Bible has many wonderful promises for the Land of Israel. I believe that God is restoring Israel as part of His plan for world redemption. Today I sat with a Jewish man who said, “We are in the beginning of the redemption. We both know (Christians and Jews) that the return of the Jewish people to Israel is part of God’s redemptive plan!”

When we talk about the future, we need to realize that children are the future! Often the children of immigrants have the most difficult time. They are coming home to Israel just as the prophets said! But, the first years are tough. Parents must learn Hebrew, do career re-training or re-certifying. They often can’t afford to pay for their children’s school needs. While education is free, the books are not, and the lunch is not provided. Unless we help, many of these children will fall behind their classmates. Many never catch up, and drop out of school as teenagers. Through the Feed a Child Program, we are changing their lives.

Enhancing Educational Experiences

We work closely with Israeli educators to help enhance the educational opportunities they offer. We are investing in the future. We have installed mobile computer labs in three schools. These labs hold 16 laptop computers that can be wheeled into any classroom. We have installed an electronics lab in a boys’ high school so the boys will have a trade before they go into their military service. We have given musical instruments, air conditioning units and many computerized smart boards. Playgrounds have been refreshed by volunteers who stay a few days after their tours. We have donated sound systems and digital projectors. All this is made possible by the generous gifts of Christians worldwide.

Adding a New School

In September when the school year starts, 30 children in the Zaman Aran elementary school in Jerusalem will join our program. Shirley Burdick, the Feed a Child Program manager, shares how we became involved. “We went to this school because I know the mother of a fourth grader who goes there. I often tell the mother (also a rabbi’s wife) about the work that Bridges for Peace does when we walk our dogs together and she actually came to visit the BFP Assistance Center last year. She invited me to the Hanukkah program at the school and introduced me to their headmistress.”

The school has 371 students. It is a beautiful school that exists in a terrible looking neighborhood. Many immigrant children attend this school and their parents are simply unable to provide for their needs. In fact 100 students need assistance. I wish that we could help them all, but at the present time we are only able to add 30 students to the program.

Save a Life—Save a Universe

In Jewish thought, if you save one life, it is as if you saved a whole universe! We recently had a Holocaust survivor tell her story to our group. She was rescued by a Dutch Christian family. When she told us about her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren—to date 17 souls, I marveled. The Christian Dutch family saved the life of one little girl and from that investment came a universe!

We need two sponsors for each child we add to the program. We are asking the Lord to lay this project on many hearts so we can change the future for more and more immigrant and Israeli children.

Will you join us to change the future? We can change the path for needy children—giving them vision for a brighter future. Through technology we can change the way a whole school learns. We can change the way educators, families and children view Christians. We can change the future!

We need sponsors to commit to a child for the entire year. They will receive a picture and information about the child they sponsor. We also need contributions to help make improvements to the schools we are working with. No contribution is too small or too large. The needs are great.

My prayer is that God will bless the children of Israel through the loving gifts of Christians, and that He will also bless all who give. “I will bless those who bless…” (Gen. 12:3).

 

Much love and blessing from Israel,
Rebecca Brimmer
International President and CEO