In the 1990’s Sderot welcomed 9,000 new residents, mostly new immigrants from the Kavkaz and Bucharia regions of the Former Soviet Union.  Today, 45% of the city’s population are immigrants or children of immigrants.  When studying immigrant absorption in Israel, researchers found that fewer than 50% of Kavkazi and Buchari immigrant families enroll their children in early childhood programs like nursery school (King et al, Brookdale Institute, 2005).  Most pre-school aged children from these communities are with either their mother or grandmother all day, sometimes because this is their tradition, and often because the family can not financially afford to place the children in pre-school frameworks.

Keeping young children at home is a legitimate choice but does limit the child’s exposure to activities that stimulate his or her development, making integration into kindergarten and first grade more difficult in the future.

Gvanim’s Home Guidance program has been active since 2002 and is set up to help 15 young, needy families, most of them immigrants from Kavkaz and Bucharia.  Each family receives help and general guidance (including play therapy) appropriate for the age of their children.  The mentor, who is herself from the Kavkazi community, meets with the family in their home and also helps parents navigate through various municipal services that they might need.

Gvanim thanks its program partners:  The Ministry of Social Welfare Service; the Municipality of Sderot, Social Services Division.