The Fellowship is helping prepare children in Israel for the new school year, including children who have just arrived in the Holy Land. Earlier this year, members of the Bnei Menashe tribe made aliyah on Fellowship Freedom Flights from India. These families are living in absorption centers as they learn Hebrew and adjust to their new lives in Israel—a transition they say is going very well.
Last month, Fellowship staff visited some of these families and took their children shopping for school supplies.
The longest visit was with Leah and her six-year-old grandson, Ari, who Fellowship staff had previously met at their home in India before helping them make aliyah. Ari is starting first grade this year with friends he made in kindergarten, and the staff took him to the market to buy a backpack and other school supplies. He was thrilled to choose a Spider-Man backpack.
Leah is still learning Hebrew and adjusting to daily life, but the family already feels at home and is very proud of their new apartment.
Leah says, “When the plane landed here in Israel, I felt like I was in a dream. I cannot express my feelings. Everything was amazing. Everything is more than I imagined. To finally be here in the Jewish country, in the Holy Land, with the support of The Fellowship. Those places, those cities—everything you read about in the Bible—seeing them with my own eyes is so amazing. No one will understand how happy I am.”
After just five months in Israel, Ari has already made friends in kindergarten and is looking forward to making even more in first grade. He says that words he uses often, like “toys” and “trucks,” have helped him learn Hebrew. While the most meaningful experience for Leah was visiting the Western Wall, Ari says his favorite adventure in Israel was riding a roller coaster for the first time at an amusement park. He proudly says he wasn’t afraid.