Social care professionals from Latvia and Estonia shadowed staff for two days at Tuffkid Nursery and Kisharon School. Their visit was part of Kisharon’s ongoing relationship with the ECJC,  the European Council of Jewish Communities.
Lena Ivanova and Inna Eizensharf, of Latvia and Sasha Nazarova, from Estonia, were accompanied by UK-based ECJC Director Mariano Schlimovich. The ECJC office is in Paris.

         
At a Head Office briefing before the start of the shadowing programme, Kisharon HR Manager Lee Zucker warmly welcomed the visitors, saying: “We are very happy with this collaboration – you’ll find there is a very good atmosphere in Britain; we work together – it’s all about the children and the people we support, and anything we can do to assist each other is wonderful. We’re sure we can learn a lot from you, and that you’ll be able to take back a lot of positive things from Kisharon that will help your work.”
Each explained what they did and what they hoped to gain from their time at Kisharon.
Sasha Nazarova, Welfare Projects Coordinator in the Estonia Jewish community’s welfare department, introduced herself, saying: “We all come from very small communities and in Estonia, there is no developed system for us to help the children. The state doesn’t have it, so what can we do for them? There is no clear understanding – a problem exists and we face challenges, and this visit will give me a better understanding of what can be done.”

Lena Ivanova, Director of Jewish Family Services for the Latvian Jewish community based in Riga, wanted to learn more about supporting children and young people with special needs, while for Welfare Department Director, Inna Eizensharf, it was about developing social programmes for children at risk.
The introductions were followed by short presentations by Kisharon staff members:
Aviva Braunold spoke of her work as Manager of Kisharon’s Day Support, Education and Therapies and explained the importance of person-centred care because each individual is different, and she touched on the process of putting together person-centred plans.

Hadassa Kessler, Kisharon’s Principal Social Worker, outlined the Supported Living Programme while explaining how things have moved on dramatically from the traditional care home model, allowing the people we support to enjoy greater choice and independence.
Giving an overview, Adele Busse, Major Donor Fundraising Manager, explained that Kisharon was set up by Chava Lehman 40 years ago, in response to a need for services, so that people with learning disabilities could have the same opportunities as their mainstream peers. She also spoke of the fundraising programme including events, direct mail appeals and the annual dinner.

Daniel Yefet, who is supported by Kisharon, joined the briefing to explain what this means. He lives in a Kisharon supported living flat, enjoys day programmes and works part-time thanks to Kisharon’s employment programme. When asked by Mario Schlimovich, “What do you like doing most?” Daniel said he enjoyed swimming – but his week’s highlight was being master of ceremonies at the Kisharon Adult Day Centre’s Oneg Shabbat. His other ‘best bit’ was his ipad!
Speaking at the briefing, EJCJ Director Mariano Schlimovich said: “We provide a platform for communities that is non-denominational and non-political; we deal with welfare, we deal with education, we deal with heritage and culture. We realised many years ago, that communities and organisations waste a lot of time and money trying to reinvent the wheel, which is why we believe in these shadowing programmes. We try to identify the best practices so that this shadowing will help us to go forward. It is a catalyst for change.”

Photos: Sue Rifkin