Yemin Orde Youth Village Celebrates 60 Years of Transforming Lives of Israel's At-Risk Children

ROCKVILLE, MD, April 18, 2013 (Press-News.org) Friends of Yemin Orde recently celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding of Yemin Orde Youth Village as a home, safe haven and school for hundreds of at-risk immigrant children and youth who are eager to learn and become productive citizens of Israel.

In 1953, Yemin Orde, which was originally established by the Youth Aliyah Child Rescue organization in Great Britain, was officially opened by Lorna Wingate, widow of British Major General Charles Orde Wingate, who is credited with forming the basis of the Israel Defense Forces and teaching Israel's early settlers to defend themselves. Yemin Orde, which translates to "In Memory for Orde", was named for this legendary British war hero as a tribute to Wingate's strong and deep belief in the future of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel.

Also at the opening ceremony was David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister. Friends of Yemin Orde is the U.S.-based fundraising arm of Yemin Orde Youth Village and Yemin Orde Educational Initiatives (YOEI). Visit http://www.yeminorde.org for details.

A special message from Sir Winston Churchill was read aloud to the children, staff and visitors who had assembled at the Village, located in the rugged beauty of the Carmel Forest region of northern Israel. In this message, Sir Winston lauded the naming of the village in honor of Wingate as a most appropriate act of historical justice.

Today, Yemin Orde Youth Village stands as a safe haven for traumatized children from all over the world. Approximately, 400 immigrant at-risk children are provided with a home, comfort, an excellent education, and the unbroken promise that "Yemin Orde will always be there" for them. YOEI, which is an independent educational resource organization, provides the blueprint to spread the unique Yemin Orde methodology, called the Village Way, to other youth villages and schools in Israel. YOEI supplies Israel's educators with teacher training, workshops and interventions, thereby reaching hundreds more at-risk children. By 2017, YOEI will partner with 10 youth villages, five public schools and two residential therapeutic facilities in Israel.

The Village and YOEI are both well-noted throughout Israel as models of excellence. In the words of Shimon Peres, President of Israel: "There is no place like Yemin Orde in all the world-no place! I pray that the whole world will become like Yemin Orde."

To commemorate the Village's 60th anniversary, Friends of Yemin Orde is organizing a trip to Israel, Oct. 13-17, 2013, an exciting opportunity to discover "the many of faces of Israel" through meetings with noted historians, scholars and military experts, tour of Israel's beautiful wildlife refuge, high-level security briefings and a visit to Yemin Orde to meet the children and staff. Email mailto:mission2013@yeminorde.org or visit http://www.yeminorde2013.org for details.

Friends of Yemin Orde supports the preeminent residential education program for at-risk youth in Israel. Contact us at (202) 237-0286, info@yeminorde.org or http://www.yeminorde.org