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The Structure of PERACH
Perach's Activities
The Tutees and tutor mentors
Perach over the years
End of the year (2006) ceremony at Perach Uruguay
PERACH
an acronym in Hebrew for “tutoring project”, also means “flower”. The personal attention that the PERACH children receive from their mentors helps them blossom into motivated individuals.
PERACH is a publicly supervised national tutorial project which simultaneously
meets educational needs of Israeli children from disadvantaged families, and the tuition problems of university students whom they pair up with a child who needs tutoring.
PERACH addresses the problem of educational achievements among children from Israel's disadvantaged families, as well as the cost of higher education for students in need of financial aid.
At age eleven, Yossi was already disillusioned. Growing up in an underprivileged neighborhood, he felt certain that nothing would come of his life, that the system was “out to get him”. Then he met David, a university student who became his mentor. In the course of the year, they would meet twice a week, at Yossi's home, in the park, on university campus. They did homework together, went for long walks, visited the library. Today, ten years later, Yossi is taking his first steps as an adult, a productive member of society. This friendship had a lasting impact on his life, opening up a myriad of possibilities.
Yossi is one of over 50,000 children who are elected every year to participate in PERACH, a project that pairs up children from underprivileged backgrounds with university students who act as tutor/mentors. The student meets with his or her protegé on an individual basis, giving the child personal attention—often sorely lacking—and serving as a role model.
The PERACH formula is simple: to cultivate and enrich the lives of children from underprivileged backgrounds, from all sectors—Jewish, Arab and Druze—through a close relationship with a mentor, while at the same time to help university students cover the cost of higher education, by providing partial scholarships or academic credits in return for their work.
The project has a number of purposes. Not only do the children benefit from a warm and caring relationship, but the university students gain first-hand experience of some of the country's social problems. PERACH operates out of the awareness that this deeper understanding acts as one step towards bridging the social gap in Israel.
Another goal of PERACH is the promotion of tolerance and understanding between Jews and Arabs, through joint activities.
PERACH helps to foster student ties with the community and encourages the student to become an active, contributing member of society and to assume full civic responsibilities. The underlying belief is that such grass-roots activities—which encourage tolerance and acceptance of those different from oneself—will help to resolve the country's social problems.
The Structure of PERACH
Perach's Activities
The Tutees and tutor mentors
Perach over the years
End of the year (2006) ceremony at Perach Uruguay
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