Summer Camps

Yad Yisroel’s summer camp is an inspiring Jewish experience for disadvantaged children in the Former Soviet Union.

Since 1989, Yad Yisroel has been running camps for children in the Former Soviet Union. Building on past success, in 2001 Yad Yisroel started operating summer and winter camps in Belarus. Today the camps serve over 450 children from the age of 8 to 19 who come from all over the country.

Sending children to camp is a necessity in Belarus, where poverty, alcoholism, violence in the home, family dysfunction and a divorce rate of around 58% does not bode well for growing kids.

With three months’ vacation in the summer, periodic vacations over the academic year, and the general lack of adult supervision, children are left to roam the streets, where they are vulnerable to many bad influences.

The camps provide a healthy alternative that in many hard-core cases can be a real life saver. For the children, the camps offer a chance to interact with other kids in a normal social environment, lots of recreational fun and a sense of physical and emotional well-being. Lasting friendships are formed and memorable experiences are shared.

Yad Yisroel exposes the children to their Jewish heritage, history, tradition and values. Moreover, the camps’ diverse educational programs and activities help bridge learning gaps and stimulate academic development. This nurturing, experiential education builds self-esteem and self-confidence, increasing the children’s chances for scholastic success in school.

For parents who are struggling to make ends meet, the camps provide an opportunity for their children to experience the joys of childhood in a wholesome and worry-free atmosphere.

For single parents, the camps provide a secured, relaxed environment for their children, enabling them to hold steady full-time jobs.