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Resilience Rescue program brings displaced Israeli children trauma relief through sports

Rescue Resiliance in action: ILSF volunteers with surfboards in the Kibbutz Alumim swimming pool, working with children after their return to Kibbutz Alumim this summer.

The Israel Life Saving Federation's Resilience Rescue program was born as a first response for the children in the Gaza border communities and kibbutzim, many of whom have been displaced from their homes since Hamas' vicious attack on the communities bordering Gaza on October 7, 2023. On October 7 the children hid in their homes for hours while Hamas terrorists rampaged through their communities, and many had friends and family members murdered or kidnapped. Ever since the attack, the children have been sheltering in hotels and other communities around the country.


The Israel Life Saving Federation initially formed bonds with the kibbutzim in the south as part of a project sponsored by JNF-Australia to bring water safety into southern Israel. All the children who participated in that program were displaced by the war.


In order to meet the urgent needs of these communities, Israel Life Saving Federation partnered with EmotionAid to develop a program designed to offer emotional first response - tools to enable the children to better control the physiological symptoms of trauma, delivered through fun and games drawn from the surf lifesaving Nippers program. Every week, volunteers from Israel Life Saving Federation spend hours with groups of children from Kibbutz Alumim, Kibbutz Gevim, Kibbutz Erez and Kibbutz Nir Am, traveling to the hotels where their communities have been temporarily housed.



As the kibbutzim are rebuilt and the children return home, ILSF volunteers have accompanied them, continuing to guide them through emotional resilience skills while introducing them to Nippers-style water safety skills as access to swimming pools and beaches becomes possible.


The program has been made possible through generous donations from JNF Australia, the Aid Coalition, San Diego Jewish Community, the Australian Friends of the ILSF, American Federation and most recently the Hampstead Gardens Suburbs Synagogue.

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