This past May, while visiting our son Ziv, who lives in Karmiel (northern Israel), we accepted an invitation from Elie Klein to tour the Adi Negev facilities. Having heard his presentation at Adat Shalom a few months prior, we were intrigued by the opportunity to see this impressive place, and what we saw lived up to the description.
Elie escorted the three of us on a tour of the residential and out-patient centers, where we saw children and adults benefitting both from the kindness, care and devotion of the staff and from the innovative technology being adapted to meet their needs. The campus felt like an oasis both physically in its desert location and emotionally in a society that does not always consider the special needs of those served at Adi Negev, which serves people from every community in Israel. The calm atmosphere and aura of respect were palpable.
In terms of technological innovation, we were especially interested to see the device Elie had described for use by non-verbal patients to communicate using their eyes, and to examine some of the remarkable mobility devices that allow wheel-chair dependent patients to stand and move upright, allowing them to “walk” and interact at an equal level with others. We also visited the community garden that grows and sells beautiful produce, generating a source of income; and we looked in on the specially-designed pool and saw the benefits of water therapy in action.
Adi Negev offers such high-level, specialized services that we had to discuss with Elie how this enterprise is economically sustained and even growing. Our conclusion is that he is a very special and effective advocate and fund-raiser! They straddle the worlds of government and non-profit support very successfully, but these worlds require constant nurturing and creativity. Elie and his team are grateful to Adat Shalom and communities around the world who have adopted them and support their mission to help all who enter to live life to their highest personal potential.
