Help Preschool Kids with Disabilities in Ashkelon

The project to build a state-of-the-art fortified early childhood center for preschool children ages six months to three years with disabilities in the rapidly growing and Gaza rocket-vulnerable city of Ashkelon is urgent. This month, Hamas shot several rockets at Israel, with many landing in Ashkelon. In addition, the entire country is under attack with rockets, missiles, and UAVs coming from Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen.

When we can raise all the funds, we will begin building the state-of-art-center, which will replace our current centers. The current centers operate in four inadequately repurposed private homes. The buildings where the children receive services are full of small rooms and many stairs that are extremely difficult to navigate for special children and their cumbersome equipment. The classrooms are overpopulated, and children are waiting at home for daycare placements. Some babies are being bussed as far as 40 minutes each way to daycares outside of the city.

Because the houses are not protected, during the first three months of this conflict when thousands of rockets were hurled into Ashkelon and people had only 30 seconds to get to shelter, the children could not go to daycare and lost significant developmental progress. They are back at the centers now, three with very small safe rooms that don't hold all the children there. One does not even have a safe room.

The new, fortified center will enable Chimes Israel to provide high-quality, professional services, rehabilitative treatment, education, and support for hundreds of children with disabilities in Ashkelon for years to come.

The Ashkelon building is nearly 60% committed with $2,297,055 USD left to raise. It will recognize major donors and their designees on the building's walls and rooms.