“Because a child
who has been ostracized
never really heals,
he only dresses as an adult.”
[Noam Horev]
“Because a child
who has been ostracized
never really heals,
he only dresses as an adult.”
[Noam Horev]
Background
The phenomena of ostracism and harmful social exclusion that occur both within schools and outside them often leave deep scars on the soul, and in extreme cases lead to suicide amongst children and adults.
These phenomena have become more serious and widespread over recent years – in part because of the weakening of the sense of community and the accompanying shared social responsibility.
Phenomena of ostracism and harmful social exclusion are often seen as an inevitable product of children’s interactions within the education system, and parents and educators often feel that “there is nothing to be done about it", finding themselves confused, helpless, and lacking effective coping strategies.
This is the space in which Kanfey Dror seeks to act – strengthening the shared social responsibility of communities to lead an uncompromising fight against these phenomena and create a profound, life-saving social correction on a national level.
Kanfey Dror was founded by the El-Ami family and named after their son Dror, a wise and sensitive young man who was deeply hurt by social abuse and ostracism during his childhood. Dror made a great effort to overcome this and was able to succeed in school, Mekhina (an army preparatory program), in the army, higher education and with his family, until the scars from being so hurt as a child, that had left deep marks on his soul, rose to the surface, opened up, and overcame him.
“Because a child who has been ostracized never really heals, he only dresses as an adult.” [Noam Horev]
What are our goals?
Leading profound, nationwide societal change and correction in relation to these phenomena.
- Changing the social norm – erasing the social acceptability of ostracism and social exclusion and significantly reducing the phenomena.
- Strengthening and building a sense of empowerment within communities (including parents, community activists, and education teams) for prevention and action, for leading active prevention initiatives alongside guidance and assistance in cases of ostracism and harmful social exclusion.
- Increasing young people’s sense of belonging to the community and society, including locating ostracized, rejected and “transparent” children and youth, and connecting them to social frameworks.
What is our model of change?
“It takes a whole village” to deal with the challenges of social exclusion and ostracism.
The key to dealing with these phenomena is to develop a sense of shared communal responsibility and translate that into effective action, including: Creating awareness of the severity of the phenomenon, creating a process for changing the norm, and active prevention alongside the development of community support and assistance capacities.
Our model of activity combines an emphasis on a model of local change with a national advocacy effort through two main action pathways:
- Active Prevention: Creating awareness and initiating a significant public discussion regarding issues of ostracism and social exclusion, alongside developing a sense of personal, familial, and communal responsibility.
- Intervention, Guidance and Assistance: Providing communities and local education systems with integrated intervention centers that have the capability to cooperate as required in prevention and coping strategies, and to accompany children and families in a crisis situation.
How do we achieve this?
- Local Action Model for Change: Our main efforts are focused on encouraging cities and communities across the country to take responsibility for ostracism and social exclusion, in cooperation with the Israeli Association of Community Centers. In 2023 we started working in Jerusalem, Ma’ale Adumim, Holon and Yeruham, and in 2024 we hope to expand our activities to twenty additional cities, including Netanya, Ramat HaSharon and Modi'in.
- Creating Strategic Partnerships: With the Israeli Association of Community Centers, the Jerusalem Municipality, and other local authorities throughout the country, as well as with other professional NGOs in the field of ostracism and social exclusion.
- National Advocacy Effort: Through our nationwide ambassadors' network, a dynamic campaign in traditional and social media, and more.
Join our network of ambassadors!
Kanfey Dror
[Registered Non-Profit Association 580745248]
Preventing and combating ostracism and harmful social exclusion
Eradicating ostracism as a social norm
Our email: [email protected]
