By Nativia Bühler

Tucked away in a quiet corner of northern Israel lies a boarding school that serves as a refuge for some of the country’s most vulnerable children. Seventy-six boys and girls, ages seven to eighteen, live here. Around sixty percent have suffered from abuse, neglect or addiction in the family. Others come from homes overwhelmed by mental illness or substance abuse. Social workers from across Israel place them here because their homes are too unsafe for them to stay.

For these children, healing is not complicated; it happens through small, practical rhythms like regular meals, therapy sessions, encouragement from staff, and above all space to breathe, move, and play. Here, the most beloved space of all is the football field.

Recently, thanks to a donation from Christians around the world, this field has been completely renovated and resurfaced, transforming it from an unsafe concrete base into a soft, secure place where children can run without fear of injury.

“From morning until night, the children are on the field,” explains Ariel, one of the managers at the boarding school, who has been working here for twenty-seven years. “It’s the place where they release energy, emotions, everything they carry inside. Some of them would play there twenty-four hours a day if we let them.”

The old surface had become worn, cracked, and dangerous. Children were slipping, tripping, and falling. A proper refurbishment is required every five to seven years, yet the cost is significant, and resources are always tight. When Christians in Germany stepped forward to help, the staff felt immensely grateful. Soon after, Christian friends from the USA, the UK and others joined in too, turning this into a beautiful gift from the nations.

The impact of the renovated field can be seen most clearly in the lives of two young brothers who arrived only a few months ago.

The boys from Kiryat Ata are just eight and ten years old, whose mother who struggles with depression, drug addiction, and a father who is in prison. Their home environment is so unsafe that their mother often had to lock them indoors for long stretches of time, driven by fear of the dangers outside. With no safe outlet for energy, the boys lived in a type of emotional confinement, restless and trapped.

“When they arrived here, it was like opening the door of a cage,” Ariel recalls. “Like horses who were trapped and then suddenly let free into the wild.” And indeed, the transformation was immediate. Within their first week, staff noticed the boys were constantly running, sprinting across the football field with big smiles that had been missing for far too long. Their mother also visits often and is comforted knowing they are safe at the boarding school.

“Freedom” is the word Ariel uses most often when he speaks about them. The field became the symbol of that freedom, a place where movement, joy and childhood return. The boarding school feels almost like a vacation for the boys, a space filled with possibilities they never had at home.

“They always tell us, ‘You can punish me, but don’t take me away from the football field,’” Ariel says with a laugh. “To them, it means everything.”

But while the field is a favourite, it is only one part of a comprehensive therapeutic environment. The boarding school offers psychology programs, special education tracks, daily warm lunches and dinners. Each child receives weekly therapy, whether music, drama, animal-assisted or other treatments according to their needs.

The long-term impact is remarkable. Graduates go on to complete high school, serve in the army, pursue university studies, and build stable lives. Some stumble along the way, but the staff see mistakes as part of the process of rebuilding a future.

“It’s a work you fall in love with,” Ariel reflects. “Every day is different—new children, new volunteers, new stories. And you know you’re affecting the next generation.”

Ariel first arrived at the school at age 18, choosing it as his national volunteer service. What began as a two-year assignment turned into a lifelong calling. He speaks about the children with the care of someone who has helped raise them. Over the decades, he has seen hundreds arrive broken, quiet, angry, or withdrawn and then slowly come back to life through the patient work of the staff.

The boarding school’s history with the ICEJ spans more than forty years, and Ariel expresses deep appreciation for its ongoing partnership. “We invite Christians to come and see how the children play and laugh,” he says. “Their donation has made the children smile…and there is no better therapy than to smile.”

Thanks to this renewed sports field, dozens of children now have a safe place to run, release, heal, and simply be children again. Your donations enable the ICEJ to provide Israelis with a future and hope. Please give today to our Future & Hope fund.