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OTS Newsletter - Fall 2006Darkaynu: Success Worth RepeatingThis one-of-a-kind program has made the inclusion of young women with disabilities an integral part of the Midreshet Lindenbaum Women’s College
Four years after the OTS Darkaynu Program began changing the lives of young Jewish women with developmental disabilities by enabling them to study in Israel alongside participants in the one-year Maria and Joel Finkle Program for women from overseas, this unique framework has become an integral part of the Midreshet Lindenbaum college. In September, 12 new participants – including girls hailing from Belgium and Canada – will begin their year at Darkaynu, living in the school’s dormitory, attending special classes on Torah topics, learning one-on-one with study partners from the mainstream program and gaining vocational skills through special work placements. “These are young women with various disabilities who, year after year, watched siblings, neighbors and friends pack up for a year experience in Israel and thought, ’What about me? Why can’t I go?’” explains Elana Goldscheider, the program’s director. “And really, what about them? Don’t they also deserve an opportunity to explore their Jewish identity, to connect to Israel, to become independent and confident, like their mainstreamed peers? That’s how Darkaynu was born.”
For its unique participants, Darkaynu has also meant a close circle of friends, a feeling of belonging and a life of their own. “This year, for the first time ever, I had friends to invite to my house for my birthday party,” says Sarah, whose family recently moved to Israel. Those friends, along with staff members from Darkaynu and Midreshet Lindenbaum and acquaintances from Sarah’s work placements, were especially important when Sarah’s father died suddenly this past year. “I didn’t want to talk to the people who came to see my mother and my sister and brother, because they didn’t really know me,” she admits. “I wanted to be with the friends who came especially to see me. They gave me a lot of support and comfort.”
Learning to Live Independently Sarah is one of several Darkaynu students who will return for a third year in September and live independently with other veteran participants in an apartment across the street from the Chana and Yaacov Tilles Campus. “Building self-sufficiency and self-esteem is a major goal of Darkaynu,” stresses Keren Gluch, the program’s vocational coordinator. “These third-year students learn to maintain their own home, prepare meals, cope with roommate issues and deal with everyday emergencies like a lack of hot water. They are also proud to host other Darkaynu participants for cooking classes and other activities that take place in ’their’ apartment.” Darkaynu staff is maintaining contact with last year’s apartment residents, whose bond with one another is so strong that their families are exploring options for enabling them to share an apartment in the U.S.
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