1976

Chaviva and Moshe Tzachor notice a small newspaper ad sending out a desperate plea. A seven month old baby Yemenite girl has been abandoned. She urgently needs a family to love and care for her, but…the infant suffers from severe physical disabilities, including blindness and  brain damage.  Chaviva and Moshe rush to see her and decide immediately to adopt her. At the time, Chaviva herself is just a few short weeks before giving birth to her 8^th child! LIAT – meaning “you belong to me” -  has found a home!

1989

Over the years, Chaviva encounters a multitude of challenges related to  raising a special needs child such as Liat. Chaviva becomes intimately familiar with the needs of developmentally disabled children and their families. In addition to all the usual hardships, the communities of Kiryat Arba and the region are far from the closest treatment center in Jerusalem. Providing vital care to the children means missing work and school, travel expenses, and facing hazards on roads beset by serious security risks. Chaviva, in her quiet and determined way, decides to act again. In a small apartment in Kiryat Arba, with limited capacity and means, Chaviva inaugurates her  new project, Neve Avraham, which  evolves into a Regional Child Development Treatment Center.

Due to the increased demand and rapid growth the center relocates to a much larger, well equipped, and more easily accessible facility on the campus of the local Hesder Yeshiva. The expanded range of comprehensive diagnostic and therapeutic services includes:

• Physiontherapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech therapy
• Psychological services
• Holistic Health Care
• Music Therapy
• Art Therapy
• Small Pet Therapy
• Treatment of learning disabilities
• Alexander Technque in various stages of planning and implimentation

Under Chaviva's guidance a highly professional and dedicated staff of therapists is assembled. The high level of expertise coupled with the unlimited love and caring for each and every child now bear fruit. Health and education supervisors attest to the outstanding success of Neve Avraham. Well over 1200 graduates, ranging in age from newborns to 12 years, whose disabilities have been alleviated and whose developmental delays have been overcome, are a source of great pride and Joy!

Today

Liat is now in her early-thirties. Her dramatic life has served as the inspiration for Neve Avraham, resulting in so many grateful children and families whose lives  have been vastly improved. But… Chaviva’s dream does not end here. Her ultimate goal is to build a permanent, modern facility, including such vital elements as a therapeutic swimming pool, as well as other state-of-the-art therapeutic tools, in order to enhance the Center’s ability to best serve the growing demand and growing needs.

Community Outreach

The expansion of community outreach services is now top priority. Primarily, this involves the creation of a comprehensive Therapy Equipment Lending Library to supplement the Center’s Game Lending Library, providing equipment and training to teachers and parents of children receiving  therapy, as well as to child development professionals in the community. Equipment is used at home or at school and enables significant enrichment of treatment provided on a daily basis, thus increasing the success rate of children with special needs being mainstreamed into regular school settings. Successful training of local child development professionals fosters increased awareness of the Center’s multi-faceted role, thus helping  them target more children who can benefit from these  services.  

The Future

Please join us as strategic partners in molding a  better future for our children. Only a small percentage of the operating budget at Neve Avraham is covered by the Israeli government. The ongoing and ever-increasing support of our friends in Israel and around the world is vital to our continued success.