The Negba Vision

To provide a framework for children and youth on the margins of the Israeli society that will allow them to fully develop and realize their personal potential, and to become independent, educated and proud citizens who are responsible, open to the world and able in turn to contribute to the community.

Negba strives to bridge the gaps between children from low socio-economic backgrounds and others in order to provide them with the tools that will enable them to advance their lives and maximize their abilities.

Negba provides a wide range of supportive services which include:

  • Emotional empowerment through professional staff guidance and age-appropriate workshops.
  • Educational enrichment and reinforcement through remedial instruction and Learning Centers.
  • Social empowerment through informal social and voluntary activities, field trips and camps.
  • A structured arts and culture enrichment program (theater, music, film making, nature outings, etc.) to expose new areas to foster a curiosity to explore new worlds.
  • Strengthening child relationships with their parents and siblings through joint family activities and parents workshops.

Negba’s lead core programs include:

Negba’s Methodology

  • We employ a multi-disciplinary professional team of social workers, coordinators, counselors, national civil service volunteers and general volunteers.
  • We provide a supportive and enriching environment for children and youth to strengthen their resilience and motivation, ensuring them equal opportunities for success.
  • We utilize innovative academic achievement methods that integrate a formal Learning Center with informal education taking into account the individual, the group, and society as a whole.
  • We design customized pedagogic tools for each Negba child.
  • We build a personal progress plan for each Negba child, adapting each plan as necessary based on our periodic assessments.
  • We provide a response to the needs of the entire family unit by maintaining close contact with the parents during targeted workshops.
  • We conduct ongoing staff training, supervision and in-service seminars.
  • We plan and implement all activities in close cooperation with local authorities and social and educational services.

Negba’s History

In 2006, creation of Negba by Claude Meyer, Claude Kadouch and Jean Bisseliches, three former immigrants from France, in close collaboration with the French association “Les Cigognes” (“The Storks”), chaired since 1974 by Philippe Créange and specialized in helping children in difficulty.

Their innovative vision for Negba was to have educational and social services interact within the same structure to help children at risk in Israel. That same year, Negba’s first children Home, sponsored by Les Cigognes, opened in Beersheva. The Negba-Les Cigognes partnership has further developed and strengthened over the years, and to this day we owe it much of our success.

In 2008, there were already three after-school Homes in Beersheva’s Dalet neighborhood. Each Home accommodated two groups divided by age, for a better work with the children. In the years when the city of Sderot was shelled by Qassam rockets, Negba operated a fourth Home there to provide a safe environment for its children.

In 2011, Negba expanded its activity to Jerusalem, launching a unique Home which operates on the premises of the Reshit School and in full cooperation with the school staff.

When the children from Negba’s Homes passed grade 6, it became clear to Negba’s management board that a continuing framework was necessary. In September 2012 Negba inaugurated its Beersheva Teen Club to provide academic and social programming for Negba’s young teenagers from grade 7 through grade 12.

In the Spring of 2016 Negba launched a pilot Middle School Transition Project in Jerusalem for youth in grades 6-8, in cooperation with the Jerusalem Education Authority. The first of its kind in Jerusalem, the project accompanies young teens through the difficult passage from elementary to middle school, preparing them for the many physiological, social, academic and emotional changes they will confront at a time when they are at extremely high risk of dropping out of school.

In October 2018 the newly constructed Negba Center (Caty and Mona Dreyfuss Center) in Beersheva’s Dalet neighborhood opened its doors. Designed to provide a warm and respectful environment for Negba’s children and teens, the building also serves as a hub of activity for the greater community.

At the onset of the 2018-2019 school year, Negba continues to successfully operate 11 moadoniot (club groups) for elementary school children in Beersheva and Jerusalem, 3 groups for pre-teens in the “H’etz” Middle School Transition Project in Jerusalem, and 3 groups in the Beersheva Teen Club. The parents of Negba’s children continue as active partners in our joint caring for their children. Negba’s Hebrew website, a rich educational resource containing work pages developed by Negba’s educational team, serves thousands of educators and instructors across Israel.

Since the start of the 2020-2021 school year, Negba has been welcoming daily to its various programs in Beersheva and Jerusalem nearly 250 children and adolescents.