Caring for some of Israel’s most vulnerable children is challenging. Caring for some of Israel’s most vulnerable children during the coronavirus pandemic while facing lockdown and feelings of uncertainty and fear is an exponential challenge.
Naama Pando, 19, who transitioned from seminary student at Midreshet AMIT last year to bat sherut (National Service) at Beit Hayeled this year, handled the leap in responsibility and intensity amid the health crisis with grace, aplomb, and love.
“It was the most difficult thing I ever dealt with,” said the Brooklyn-born Naama, whose parents, Dan and Sarit Pando and five siblings faced the pandemic in New York, the epicenter of COVID-19. “I was worrying about my (Beit Hayeled) kids who went home. I was worrying about the kids who stayed here. I was worrying about my family in New York. It was so overwhelming and intense. But it made me very strong and I felt happy to know that I was the one taking care of our Beit Hayeled kids.”
Beit Hayeled is AMIT’s surrogate home in Jerusalem for some of Israel’s most vulnerable, at-risk children. They are placed here by court order by Israeli social services because their homes are dysfunctional or worse. They are cared for, taught and nurtured in a loving, secure, and supportive environment. More than 50 children ages 8 to 14 live at Beit Hayeled. They are referred to as “internis.” Another 30 or so children, “externis,” live with their family of origin but come daily to Beit Hayeled after school. For several hours, they get therapy, support services, healthy social interactions, and the attention of caring adults, including therapists, social workers, madrichim, bnot sherut, and Midreshet AMIT students.
Naama recalled when as a seminary student she worked with an 8-year-old girl who was severely maladjusted. The girl wasn’t kept clean, she didn’t know how to eat properly, and her difficult behavior was beyond handling. Naama then was assigned to an 11-old-boy who lived at Beit Hayeled. While her seminary requirement was about two hours, three times a week with the boy, Naama started going every day from 4 to 10 p.m. to spend time with him. She also became very close to a bat sherut who worked with his group.
“I would go there every day, every dinner and lunch break,” she said. “I would go and put the kids to bed and would prepare pancakes for them for the morning. Because of my close friend, and my boy, I decided that I wanted to stay” after the seminary year was over.
Just because she was at Midreshet AMIT and she wanted to stay, becoming a bat sherut at Beit Hayeled was not automatic. More than 100 young women apply for the 15 coveted spots. But she knew Hebrew (her parents are Israeli), understood the culture, and wanted to continue to work with the children and make a difference in their lives. “I had really good connections with so many of the kids. They took that into consideration, and they took a chance on me,” she said.
Going from bat midrasha to bat sherut took some getting used to. As a seminary student, she helped make sure the kids were happy, engaged, occupied. Once she became a bat sherut, there was more responsibility, more hours, and even more disciplining the youngsters when needed. “I was like a mother to 14 boys at age 19,” she said.
She recounted a breakthrough experience with one boy whom she described as tough, never showing emotion. He needed braces and extraction of several teeth. The boy asked if she could accompany him and his father to the dentist. She asked her supervisor if she could go and was given permission. At the dentist, the boy became very nervous. Even before the dentist came in, his father, who had a habit of making broken promises, left. The boy started screaming.
“ ‘Naama, come sit next to me’ he screamed. I went and sat next to him. He was so scared he started to bite the dentist. I held his hand and told him that everything was going to be alright and that I was here with him and that I wasn’t going to leave. The dentist told me in Hebrew that I was very good with kids. The boy then looked at me with tears in his eyes and said to me, ‘Naama, you’re not just a bat sherut. I’ve been with many bnot sherut. You are very special. You are like my sister. I love you.’ I couldn’t believe it. I had to hold myself back from crying when I heard him say this. But thank God, he got his teeth out and now he has his braces,” she said.
Her biggest challenge came in March when Israel went into lockdown. Schools closed and everyone was mandated to observe social distancing. Naama’s externis, her regular group of children, went to their homes and sheltered there. So, she worked with the more than 50 internis, who lived at Beit Hayeled.
“Could you imagine being locked down 24/7 and these kids who couldn’t go out at all?” she asked. “Some of them lost it. It was very overwhelming and difficult. It made things 10 times harder.”
But while there was no school, nor online learning, the staff made sure to engage the kids with camp-like activities. “If someone was good at singing, we asked them to lead an activity in singing and to teach the others. If someone was good in English, we made up an activity in English. But it was very hard. Every group at the beginning was in a separate room on a separate floor.
“But I know this experience made me very strong,” she reiterated.
Things have become more normalized in Israel. The externis started returning to Beit Hayeled in early May and Israeli schools have reopened.
Naama’s overall experience at Beit Hayeled and the challenging coronavirus period has given her some clarity about her future.
“I don’t know exactly what I want to do yet career-wise, but I definitely want to work with at-risk kids. I’m not sure if as a social worker, lawyer or teacher, but something where I can help make a difference in their lives,” she said.
“This experience has changed me in so many ways,” she continued. “I see things in a different light. I see Israel in a different light. Before, I never knew about such sadness that these children face with their families. But I also have never seen a country that really cares for each kid like the way Israel does. It’s really something. It is amazing. I have become more sensitive. And now I even see a path on how I want to raise my own kids.”
Naama has given so much. But said she has gained even more.
