Without the benefit of sight, the children of Keren Or in Jerusalem rely on their other senses to learn about the world around them.  Touch is one major way that they express themselves and communicate with others.    

Keren Or has launched a new project to create a Tactile Library for children with multiple disabilities and vision impairment.  Tactile books, which include textured materials on each page to convey the action of the scene, tell a story through touch and allow the students of Keren Or to have access to the joy of books.  The goal is that each student will have his own book to follow along with in class.

Under the direction of the Keren Or staff in Jerusalem, the books are constructed with the help of many volunteers.  First, the pages of the storybooks are laminated to create a sturdy book that can be used many times over.  Then, textured materials are glued on top of the illustrations.  For instance, in the well-known children's story by Leah Goldberg, "Where is Pluto?," fake fur is glued on top of the dog shape so that the children can follow along by touching the pages.  Textured green paper is glued on top of the illustration of a turtle; shiny paper is glued over the image of water.  Many of the children have some residual vision and so care is taken that the colors and shapes remain consistent. 

This mitzvah project was first launched at the Purim Carnival at Temple Beth Tikvah in Madison, CT and many participants - both children and adults - helped make the tactile books.  On Sunday, April 10, 10:00am to 1:00pm, the project will be continued at the Mitzvah Day of Temple Israel of the City of New York.  If you would like to carry out this project with your synagogue, community center, school or for your own Bar or Bat Mitzvah, please contact Avi Smolen at 212-279-4070 or avi@keren-or.org.

Where are you from?

I grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey and attended local Jewish day schools through high school.  After graduating, I studied in Israel for a year and a half at Yeshiva Sha'arei Mevaseret Zion, before attending college.

Where are you in school and when do you graduate?

I am in my senior year at Yeshiva University, where I major in History and minor in Business.  I will be graduating in May 2011.

What do you plan to do after you graduate?

I hope to go to graduate school and pursue a Masters in either Jewish Education or Social Work, along with possible rabbinic ordination from Yeshiva University.  I see myself working in the broader Jewish community, specifically with children.     

What was your first experience working with people with disabilities?

Soon after I began college I started working for Women's League Community Residences in Brooklyn. WLCR is an organization that runs homes for children and adults with special needs.  I have worked as a weekend counselor at this home for the past two and half years.  I do everything from changing diapers and feeding some of the lower-functioning participants to bringing other participants to synagogue on Shabbat.  It is something I very much enjoy doing and look forward to all week long.

What made you want to intern at Keren Or?

After working with special needs children for two and a half years, I have become partial to organizations that work with and promote awareness for children with disabilities.  I visited Keren Or's website and was very impressed with all the work they do to make the lives of these special children the best they can be.   

Have you visited the Keren Or Center in Jerusalem?  What were your reactions?

This past January I visited Israel for three weeks, including a visit to Keren Or's beautiful facility in the picturesque hills of Ramot, overlooking Jerusalem.  I was very impressed with the equipment-it is designed to meet the varied needs of all the students at the Center.  The Hydrotherapy Center, for instance, features separate cubicles in the pool where therapists can work individually with students as well as a large open pool for group exercises and open swimming.  Hydrotherapy is so amazing because children who are virtually immobile on land can not only move but can actually swim by themselves when in the water.  Most importantly, I was impressed by the warmth of the staff members at Keren Or express toward the children; they clearly love the work that they do.  

We can only succeed in advancing programs for our students' special needs with your involvement and support.  If you are in Jerusalem to visit family or for vacation, we invite you to take a tour of our state-of-the-art facility so that you can see first-hand the amazing work of our staff and the smiles on the faces of our students.  We also encourage you to share your experiences with your home communities, so that they too can understand the importance of caring for these children.  If you are interested, please call in Israel 073-240-0201 or in the United States 212-279-4070 and we would be more than happy to arrange transportation and a short tour of the facilities. 

to funding the needs of over 100 blind and multi-disabled children and young adults at the Keren Or Center in Jerusalem.  Charity Navigator is

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