Equal Opportunities for Every Youth
Our main goals:
To close the educational gap between disadvantaged children and those from stable homes, and ensure that no child falls between the cracks.
To nurture the natural talents of each youth and guide them in using these talents to build a career, contribute to society and create a promising future.
To instill a sense of personal and national pride in each youth and create responsible, giving citizens.
To reach these goals WIZO operates the following:
Youth Villages & Schools
WIZO’s five youth villages and two schools are home to 5,900 young people, 1,500 of whom live in the school’s dormitories and are from disadvantaged backgrounds. Each educational institution has a unique approach and provides individual attention, education, therapies and guidance to help each student reach their full potential. WIZO invests heavily in every student, helping them overcome the difficulties of their background while providing them with options for the future.
Special Education Programs
WIZO’s two schools for special education include a vocational high school for children with special needs and/or troubled home lives and a boarding school for students who have been hospitalized for psychological crises. Recognizing each child’s unique abilities, WIZO ensures their emotional well-being, personal development, and educational advancement. WIZO works to enable every student to earn a degree or become skilled in a marketable trade, and to enlist in the IDF or National Service to become productive, responsible, and contributing citizens.
Programs for At-Risk Youth
WIZO runs supplementary educational activities and programs for youth at risk: afterschool programs for children of Ethiopian descent; three emergency centers; five centers for at-risk youth; a safe house for young women in prostitution; and an additional rehabilitative program for at-risk young women. These services span the country and address the needs of the most vulnerable youth in Israeli society.
Foster Care for Youth
WIZO’s operates a foster family community consisting of five houses located in Herzliya that provide a warm home and substitute family for children who have been removed from their homes by court order. The children also receive all the additional services — educational, emotional, financial and physical — that the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Welfare afford them.
