Saint Rachel Center in Jerusalem

Our children belong to a slice of population at high risk, that is very complex from a social and identity point of view. On one side, families of Asylum seekers who live in fear and poverty, have to work hard in order to earn their living, need to find Day Care structures for their babies and cannot afford the expenses of the local structures. On the other side, migrant families that are often dysfunctional, consisting of a mother, previously married in her country of origin, and children born of casual and illegitimate unions here in Israel, with a father who is absent and uninterested. Despite having Asian and African origins, these children were born and live in a Jewish social context with whom they fully share language and culture. Our aim is to offer them a healthy context for their growth, help them develop a harmonious Christian and Israeli identity so as not to end up marginalized. Priority is given to the education and accompaniment of the schooling process, while caring for their physical, mental and spiritual health.

During the last few years, dozens of children of Filipino, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Sri Lankan (and other) origins have been welcomed in our center, some staying there until today. Due to the size of the place, the current capacity of the center is 28 small children (from 3 months to 3 years) and about 35 older children (from 3 to 13 years), with peaks of 70-80 during summer.

The center is open every day, except on Saturday, from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm for preschool children, and from 1:30 pm to 5:00 pm for children returning from school. The mornings are punctuated by simple activities adapted to the age of the toddlers, interspersed with meals and rest times. For the older children, the afternoon starts with lunch followed by games, study, sport and other activities.

From September 2021 the Saint Rachel Center in Jerusalem is run by the Vicariate for the Migrants and Asylum Seekers.