Dear friends,
This coming Friday night we will sit down to our Seder, once more without our son Niot. Four years ago, the Seder was our last night together with him. He died a few days later, in the middle of the Pesach holiday, and we miss him very much.
A number of memorial events are coming up, but before we tell you about them we would like to update you about what is going on in the Niot Project, the program for high school students with learning difficulties that we established in Niot’s memory. This project, which operates under the aegis of the Society for the Advancement of Education, is now in its third year. We can tell you that it has changed the face of the high schools in which it operates. According to an evaluation study conducted last year, thanks to the project students with difficulties are attending class more often and with better results, and receive more support—corrective teaching, workshops, counseling, and adjustments—from an educational staff that fits itself to the needs of each teenager and focuses on his individual needs.
A week ago we put out an updated brochure about the program, which you can download here.
We will be happy to send you a hard copy if you request it.
As you can read there, the Niot Project is a success, but it is still not working at its full potential. We lack funds for full-time positions for the program coordinators who are the heart of the program, and for renovating and equipping learning centers in each school. There is no better way to help us remember Niot than by making a contribution to the project that will help us perfect it.
You may contribute by sending a check directly to The Society for the Advancement of Education, PO Box 16252, Jerusalem 91162. If you do this, please put “Niot Project” on the subject line, or include a cover letter designating it for the Niot Project. You may also use this form.
US citizens may make a donation tax deductible in the United States by giving via PEF–Israel Endowment funds. Please use this designation letter and mail to:
PEF-Israel Endowment Funds, Inc.
630 Third Avenue, 15th Floor
New York, NY 10017-6745
You may also contribute on-line via Paypal here:
Please click the button on the right that says “Niot Project.”
Memorial events:
• The second annual Niot Memorial Soccer Tournament, organized by his friends, will be held Sunday, April 12 (the day after the Pesach holiday), beginning at 2:30 p.m. at the Hartman High School athletic field, 11 Gedaliah Alon St., Jerusalem.
• We will hold a memorial service at Niot’s grave in the Mt. Herzl military cemetery (Area D, Plot 7) on Friday, April 17, at 10 a.m.
• On Yom HaZikaron/Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers, Wednesday April 22, the family will visit Niot’s grave at about 1 p.m.
Each Haim writes on Pesach for the weekly Torah Portion sheet Shabbat Shalom. You can read an English version on his website, here.
Sincerely,
Haim and Ilana Watzman and the entire family