OUR FOUNDER

Dr. Yael Ben-Dor, arrived in Israel alone having escaped from Germany in 1934. By that time her brothers had also fled from Germany and her father had been sent to a concentration camp. Upon arriving in Israel, she served the women and children of northern Israel for over 40 years in her capacity as a gynecologist/obstetrician.

In addition to being on staff of Tsfat’s regional hospital, she ran a first-aid school for the Haganah for which she was also an undercover agent prior to 1948. She organized the department of physiotherapy for Tiberias and with her husband Bert, ran a meteorological station from their farm in an isolated spot high in the mountains of the Galilee.

Due to her extreme empathy and ability to provide guidance, young people with problems came to her very often for counseling. While she gave them what they needed to the best of her ability, she found that there was a void in the community. There was little or no help for youngsters with either physical and/or psychological problems.

Once she was able to obtain a room in a local community center, she invited children of all ages to come and share their difficulties and their needs. Many people had no idea where to go for help or that anyone was willing and able to help them. But she and her small volunteer staff assisted many people with the challenging problems that troubled them by directing them to the agencies who offered services suited to their individual requirements.

Detecting that there were no local services for the blind and visually impaired, Dr. Ben Dor decided to concentrate in this special field. Her desire was to rehabilitate those with vision problems and make it possible for them to function in spite of their handicap. This was how over 30 years ago The Center for the Advancement of the Blind in Tsfat (Israel) was born.

In her search for new and innovative methods, Dr. Ben-Dor led the way. Her ideas and methodology for integrating the vision impaired into a seeing society blazed a new trail. Her work with albino children offered families new hope. Almost as soon as these children were born, she colored them with henna. Their families and friends didn’t think them so strange as they appeared visually normal. But because of their sensitivity to the sun, she suggested sunglasses to protect their eyes and she designed special bathing suits for them, which are now being used by all children. Most important to her was their social integration into the community at large.

She was the first person to work with newborn infants with suspected vision difficulties as well as the first person to import Braillex machines into Israel. Braillex units allow the blind to use computers as they print out computer documents in Braille. Truly, she concerned herself with each person’s problem until she found a way to help.

Using effective techniques and modern technology, she was instrumental in teaching the vision impaired how to control their lives productively and independently. They learned to handle challenges and to vie fairly for competitive employment. They were taught to develop skills that would give substance to their lives. The focus of all the programs offered by The Center was and still to this day remains - to instill self-confidence and resourcefulness in the blind and vision impaired by stimulating their talents and motivating them to achieve their ambitions.

Outgrowing the small room in a local community center, Dr. Ben-Dor traveled to Canada in 1985 where she received a magnanimous contribution that enabled her to erect a $500,000 multi-faceted facility in which a variety of rehabilitative activities could take place. Beit Yael was born.

Since then The Center has grown and people of all ages from all over Israel, come here for help and participate in both our daily and special residential programs. Thousands of people from all walks of life, from all areas and ethnic groups in Israel have benefited by their participation in The Center’s programs.

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SEEING THINGS IN A NEW WAY

By Motti Barzalai
Past Chairman of the Board

According to the most recent 2003 statistics, there are over 20,000 blind and vision-impaired individuals in Israel. This number grows as more than 1,500 people are added each year. This includes people of all ages, men, women and children, from all parts of the country regardless of their ethnic background.

A person who is vision impaired has to deal with two very difficult and fundamental problems:
1. The physical condition that results as a loss of sight.
2. The mental and emotional condition that leads to a fear of loss of control.

These two problems are connected and exert a very strong influence on the life of any blind person. They cause them to see every situation as a trap and can truly disrupt their ability to cope with even the simplest situations.

Aware that rehabilitation is a dynamic force that affords the sightless and poor-sighted the opportunity to manage their lives in a self-sufficient manner The Center as set up by our founder, Dr. Yael Ben Dor, of Blessed Memory, over thirty years ago. Since that time, it has served Israel's blind and visually impaired community by empowering the sight handicapped to function effectively in order to reach their maximum potential. Through the various programs outlined in this newsletter, Israel's blind and vision impaired are given the ability and skills to cope with their lives and the motivation to achieve their ambitions.

The Center is involved locally, regionally and nationally. Blind people from all ages and ethnic backgrounds participate in the activities. Dr. Ben Dor believed that both physical and emotional rehabilitation had to be offered. It would be this conditioning that would allow a person to fit into the community.

While the blind person has certain limitations, it is of utmost importance that the sighted community be accepting. At Beit Yael, both the blind person and the community are given the strength to deal with this sensitive situation. Working with open eyes we bring the blind and vision impaired to a place of equal rights, one complete with all the responsibilities and privileges that will allow them to take their rightful place in today's society.

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OUR FACILITY

Beit Yael, a single story, square pink building, sits unobtrusively in a secluded Tsfat location. All activities take place in this unique facility, built in 1987 with a $500,000 donation from a Jewish Canadian foundation. Much deliberation went into The Center’s construction so that it would cater to the needs of the blind and vision impaired. The building has a spacious inner courtyard and is surrounded by a large garden. Recent donations from our family of supporters has allowed us to purchase new bedroom furniture, new dining room tables and chairs, a new institutional stove for our kitchen, several air conditioners, and most recently, to purchase new equipment for our gym. Most of all we have been able to install a complete fire alarm system for the protection of all our program participants. The Center offers:

10 air-conditioned double bedrooms (adjoining bathroom/shower)	an institutional kitchen	dining room	kitchen for teaching daily skills
computer lab	small gym	music room	two workrooms for the elderly
four offices	a shelter

ADMINISTRATION

Staff
Administrator	David Bronfeld
Project Director	Asher Maloul
Director of Development	Rena Cohen

Board of Directors
Executive Committee	Rivka Bialistock	Chairman of the Board
	Aviva Minoff	Secretary
	Michael Rozen	Treasurer
	Shimon Kalmanovitch
	Moti Barzalai	Past Chairman
Honorary Members	Adi Eldar	Mayor of Karmiel, Chairman of Hashilton HaMikomi
	Yosef Elul	Chairman of Moetza HaMikomi Hatzor
Auditing Committee	Dr. Yehoshua Sivan
	Ezra Cohen

The Center for the Advancement of the Blind is listed in Giving Wisely, The Israeli Guide to Nonprofit and Volunteer Organizations, written and edited by Prof. Eliezer David Jaffe.

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OUR PARTNERS

No organization can exist alone without the input and participation of other groups. The Center has been fortunate in that we have a very good working relationship with many groups who also offer a variety of services to the vision impaired as well as with Israel’s Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. We work in close co-operation with all the other blind Centers in Israel including: The Center for the Blind in Tel Aviv; The Library for the Blind in Netanya; The Assoc. for the Blind in Israel assisted by guide dogs; Migdal Or who provide rehabilitation services; Ofek Liyladenu (parents of blind children); Alim (blind students); in addition to some Arab and other centers.

We are also involved internationally with a variety of organizations as well as educational institutions. We are currently in the process of translating materials from Lighthouse International in New York from English to Hebrew.

In November 2004 The Center was the location for a two-day meeting of those who manage other programs for the blind and vision impaired. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs facilitated this workshop.

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