No Dull Summer Moments: Keitana Day Camps in Full Swing at Negba

The long and hot summer break in Israel is often a time when Israeli kids find themselves with nothing to do. Many regress into unproductive, and even harmful, behavior. But that’s not the case for Negba’s kids and youth. From the day school let out, they’ve continued coming to Negba for quality programming, as they have all year.

Negba’s children with Moadon’s Teens

And what a packed July it’s been. All of Negba’s frameworks for children and teens in Beersheva and Jerusalem are in operation at their regular locations with full staff, offering social and informal educational activities almost daily. Many of the informal activities relate to the summer’s theme, “B’Shvil Yisrael,” alluding both to the country’s landmark Israel Trail, and to doing good for society. Negba’s kids interacted with two groups of youth giving back to the community: French teens from the Moadon Association in Paris who spent two days volunteering with Negba, and teens of Dimona’s Bnei Akiva branch who each “adopted” a Negba “little brother/sister” and whose branch led three days of joint activities across Israel. Many of Negba’s children also enjoyed group visits to their national service volunteers’ homes, which was a real treat to peek into the lives of their year-round role models.

Fun at the swimming pool

Of course it wouldn’t be summer without getting wet and enjoying some wholesome fun, like the average Israeli kid. Special outings included pool trips, Dialogue in the Dark at the Israel Children’s Museum, a teens’ 2-day hike in the Jerusalem Hills, therapeutic horseback riding, a “Find Your Counselor” activity in the mall, a boat ride on the Mediterranean Sea, and more. Negba parents know that their children are in a safe and structured environment for much of the summer, acquiring positive skills and accumulating enriching life experiences.

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