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The project was launched in July 2017, out of concern for children in the Israeli-Bedouin sector. Studies have shown that Bedouin children are more frequently injured in home accidents compared to other Israeli children, including children from the Israeli-Arab sector in general. In an attempt to mitigate this problem, ICL initiated the program and brought onboard several organizations: Matan – Investing in the Community, Ajeec – the Negev Institute, and B’Terem for Child Safety, to conduct a special project aimed at improving the safety of Bedouin children living in the Negev.
The project includes three programs:
ICL provides employment for approximately 5,600 Israeli-Bedouin workers (mostly indirectly, as they are employed by ICL’s contractors, working in ICL facilities). ICL integrates work safety and safe driving issues into courses and training which are provided to all employees periodically, thereby raising the awareness of ICL’s Israeli-Bedouin employees regarding the importance of children’s safety and the need to adopt safety values. ICL also provides tools to help its employees adopt safe behavior for the benefit of their children to create sustainable behavioral change among Company employees, as well as to assimilate such change among the employees’ families and their communities. ICL’s goal is to empower its employees to lead change in their respective communities.
In addition, safety in daily life is integrated into the additional extracurricular activities supported by ICL for the Bedouin communities.
ICL is proud to lead this important project, which is already bearing fruit. Hundreds of counselors and educators are reaching thousands of residents in the Bedouin communities with a message about the importance of safety. A study conducted in parallel to the project’s launch and implementation indicates the program’s impact on the prevention and the reduction of accidents.
The nature of habitation and settlement in Israeli-Bedouin communities poses a challenge for extracurricular and enrichment activities in after-school hours. ICL, together with Perach tutoring scholarship students, rises to the challenge by providing extracurricular activities for Bedouin children led by students from their communities through the Perach tutoring program at local primary schools. As part of this activity, every Friday about 500 Arabic-speaking students meet with about 1,000 students from 12 Bedouin schools in southern Israel, including in Rahat, Lakiya, Segev Shalom, Neve Midbar, Kseifa, Tel Sheva and Hura.
The Perach tutors arrive at primary schools on Fridays, when no regular studies are held. Each tutor works with two to three children, who are given two hours of individual assistance and educational enrichment, while two additional hours are dedicated to group sports activities, in collaboration with the Education and Society association. The activities focus on expanding the pupils’ world in varied subjects, such as science and sustainability, and instructing them on other topics that are vital to Bedouin society in the South, such as road safety and safety in daily life, as part of ICL’s main project for promotion of safety practices in the Bedouin communities in the South.
In March 2019, a ”safety month” took place as part of the Perach work plan. It included three classes composed by B’Terem and Ajeec, and 12 key “Safety Days” were held in 12 different schools. This activity of the Perach program was attended by about 1,600 children of the Bedouin community throughout the Negev.
The Adopt a Soldier program, operated by the Association for the Benefit of IDF Soldiers, connects business companies and donors with military units, by providing moral and physical support. The project aims at providing assistance to IDF soldiers, who have a heavy load of day-to-day routine of duty, resulting in exhaustion and high-risk situations. ICL adopts the Desert Recon Battalion (585), comprised mainly of Israeli-Bedouin soldiers and other minorities.
In addition to financial support, ICL offers support to the soldiers not only during their military service, but also after completing their army service, and provides professional training courses and assistance in their search for employment. ICL also hosts units of IDF soldiers at its facilities and takes an active part in social events.