Me and My Mommy
Me & My Mommy is an innovative program for new moms of special needs newborns to age 3. Shalva, which means “peace of mind” in Hebrew, is a not-for-profit organization in Israel, which provides comprehensive programs for special needs children between the ages of 4 and 29. Shalva recognizes the challenges facing the moms of special needs babies. With professional guidance from Shalva’s trained social worker, physical and occupational therapists, Moms learn how to care for, hold, interact with, accept and actively engage in physical therapy and stimulation for their infant/newborn. Moms also meet with each other for discussions and emotional support. Activities take place at Shalva’s Children Center utilizing their state of the art facilities: a music room, a computer room, an art room, a physical activity center, a Snoezelen sensory room and hydrotherapy in the pool. Each group meets at Shalva once per week for a period of 2 hours. During this time participants meet with Shalva’s professional staff both in groups and individually.
There are more than 170 mothers coming to Shalva with their babies for this one-of-a-kind program. Me and My Mommy is not paid for by the government social services in Israel, but Shalva offers it’s programs free of charge to participants. Many travel great distances, even within the city of Jerusalem, requiring 2 busses and over an hour to get to Shalva. It is very difficult for mothers to travel alone, carrying an infant in one arm, a diaper bag and stroller in the other.
Our Involvement
The HOT Transportation Fund helps some of the moms get to Shalva in the cold of winter and the heat of summer. We need to increase our annual grant to the fund by $3,600 to keep up with the need for transportation, which eases the additional burden this larger group of families face. Me and My Mommy is just one of the unique programs at Shalva. We invite you to take a look at their website to see all that they do.
Shalva is a HOT beneficiary that helped alleviate the crisis in Israel this summer. Their Respite Center that normally can house twenty special needs children overnight (which gives their parents and siblings some alone time at home) became home to 20 special needs children and their families from the North. Shalva also absorbed other special needs children into their daily programs. A HOT donor stepped forward from our email campaign with a $10,000 gift designated for Shalva.
Contact Information:
Shalva, The Center for Mentally and Physically Challenged Children in Israel, Kalman Smauels, Founder and Director, Evan Denan St. 6, 02-651-9555, email: kalman@shalva.org, www.shalva.org
