“There are two periods in the life of H.: ‘before Noa’ and ‘after Noa’. The first period, from when H. was born until five years ago was incredibly difficult…..H. was violent and angry, he refused to learn or to connect to the other children, he would scream and hardly ever spoke. The school suggested Ritalin which only exacerbated the problem. The situation was impossible with no way out. H. suffered and everyone around suffered from him.

Then we met Noa Mandelbaum who at the time worked in a regular kindergarten……and the change was astonishing. (Under her care) we immediately stopped the Ritalin, the violence and behavioral problems gradually abated and H. began to make friends, read and write. The kindergarten kids took a full part in his development and within only a few months, H. was friendly, sensitive, happy, funny and was loved by his friends.” J.K. – Jerusalem

“S was born with Down’s syndrome and until the age of 13 was a friendly loving child. When he turned 13, the ‘problems’ started for him and for us. With adolescence came behavioral problems and violence and the complaints started pouring in. S. went through 3 schools in a single year!

Then we heard of the Reishit.

We turned to Noa Mandelbaum, told her S.’s story and Noa immediately agreed to take him in...... Within a short space of time, S. began to behave better and to respond to the attempts to teach him. In short, everything that had been a ‘problem’ stopped being problematic. In Reishit, there is a teaching and volunteer staff that gives all their heart. It seems that there is no limit to what they are prepared to give and to their kindness.” M.B. – Alon Shvut

“We are the parents of A., born with Down’s syndrome ten years ago here in Jerusalem. Our dream for A. is that one day he will have the skills to earn a livelihood and marry. Our dream is for A. to become a giver. We know he has this potential.

Three years ago we met Noa Mandelbaum, a gifted teacher, whose methods are helping A. realize our dream. Under Noa’s direction at Reishit A. learns to read, to write and to do arithmetic. But Reishit gives much more to A. than basic skills. It is here we have seen the potential which exists within A begin to develop.

Two years ago, Noa and the children built an animal farm and vegetable gardens… The children feed, clean and maintain the animals. A. is responsible for the guinea pigs, which multiply at an amazing rate. The children plant and harvest. Building on how the children responded to the animals, a year ago they started clearing land for a corral and stable.

We have seen, in these past three years, A. change into a child with enough self-confidence to ride his bike from home a quarter of a mile to his after school tutor. He plays with the boys in the neighborhood and makes baskets with the best players.

We want our son to continue to grow. We want him to know that he is a give, not just a taker, because we, like Noa Mandelbaum, believe that a person is defined by what they give.” E.S. - Jerusalem