The very best for every child
WIZO began over 90 years ago by providing mothers with the means to feed their children. WIZO has since grown to become Israel's leading organization for early childhood care and education. WIZO remains dedicated to Israel’s next generation and their parents by providing excellent childcare and top education to babies and toddlers with a special emphasis on changing the difficult circumstances of children at risk. WIZO nurtures the child and gives mothers peace of mind and the freedom to work, knowing that their toddlers are receiving the very best start in life.
Our main goals:
- To provide the best age-appropriate education while taking into consideration the unique variables of each child's surroundings, as well as providing innovative programs for children at risk.
- To give young families the tools to improve their quality of life, strengthen their parenting abilities, ensure family welfare and give them tools for personal growth.
- To strengthen Israeli society by enabling more young parents to enter the workforce, especially women, and to create a leading, affordable and universal education system that ensures that each child will have equal opportunities.
- To promote and develop professionals at WIZOs' day care centers as well as other early childhood programs in Israel.
To reach these goals WIZO operates the following:
Day Care Centers - Our 183 day care centers countrywide offer much more than childcare to over 15,000 babies and toddlers. Each center is run by professional staff that provides emotional and developmental support to each child. WIZO creates a warm and secure environment in which the children thrive. Some of our day care centers operate in public institutions such as hospitals and universities so as to enable professional working mothers to build careers.
Day Care for Children At Risk - WIZO operates “multipurpose” day care centers that cater to children from families under the care of the welfare authorities, and offers full day programs from 7AM- 7PM. Here, infants and toddlers receive the care that they do not get at home, including proper nutrition, attention, cognitive stimulation and encouragement. The parents are given therapy as well as parenting classes so they may better care for their children. WIZO’s goal is to empower parents to care for their children and to prevent the removal of the children to foster care.
WIZO Emergency Frameworks and Foster Homes - For children at high risk who have been exposed to neglect and abuse, WIZO provides both short and long-term protection and care in homes with parents dedicated to raising them. The children are given security, counselling, and support. Each has an individual rehabilitation program that addresses his physical and emotional trauma.
Other activities in the community - WIZO holds strong ties with many municipalities and communities and operates various "tailor made" projects for a specific need. Some of our projects are:
- Parents Help Line – Free of charge advisory call center for parents of young children- In order to assist parents to best care for their children WIZO runs a free advisory call center for parents who need help or counselling on parenting difficulties. The only one of its kind in Israel, the center is staffed by professionals who volunteer their time.
- The Early Childhood Center in Be'er Sheva – This center was established in 1989, and its mission is to promote the social, emotional and cognitive abilities of children up to the age of six. The center invests many resources in developing and promoting educational and interventional programs for infants, children and their families. Also on the premises is a "multipurpose" day center as well as a resource center for families and profesionals.
- The Open House in Sderot – the ‘Open House’ aims to identify and treat children with health, developmental and environmental difficulties, as well as children and their families who are in a state of distress and anxiety due to the security situation, and to provide parents with advice, training and empowerment.
- From risk to opportunity – This program successfully integrates children with special needs into WIZO's day care centers. The children receive individual support from assistant caregivers and therapists. Following the success of this program, WIZO, in conjunction with ALUT – the society for children with autism in Israel, integrated "Alutaf" – classes for infants with autism at some of WIZO's day care centers.