The Fire at Yemin Orde
The wildfire in Israel’s North in December 2010 destroyed some 40% of Yemin Orde Youth
Village, home to some 400 children from 20 countries around the world. Altogether, 22 of
our buildings were lost, including our three of our children's homes – with many of our
children losing all of their possessions as well as their only home in the world. Our children
have all experienced serious loss and trauma in their young lives; most have no other home
in Israel. Tragically, the fire exposed our children to new trauma and dislocation.
Within a few months after the fire, a steering committee was created at Yemin Orde
comprised of internal staff, board members, architects, and engineers. In view of the fact
that so much of the Village was destroyed and major rebuilding would be done in any case,
the committee was given the task of designing a master plan for the Village taking into
account future needs and the role the village will play in caring for the next generation of
immigrant and at-risk youth. The plan was based on extensive interviews with village staff
and local professionals. Their input enabled us to strategically locate the various needs in
the village and to create the very best designs for each and every facility being rebuilt.
The steering committee also worked to create an improved infrastructure for Yemin Orde,
minimizing the number of roads shared by pedestrians, trucks, buses and cars. At present,
the children walk to and from school on the narrow street which crosses the village. The
new master plan includes a perimeter road which circles the Village, enabling all of the
internal roads to be car-free, thus insuring the children’s safety.
This important process has been time-consuming but it was important to use this
opportunity to ensure that Yemin Orde is safe and welcoming for the children for years to
come. The program has been confirmed by our board of directors, we have completed the
tedious process of securing building licenses from local authorities, various consultants put
the final plans together with regard to materials needed for construction and outside
development, and building will commence this month.
The Children's Homes at Yemin Orde
There are twenty children's homes at Yemin Orde, three of which were burnt to the ground in the
fire. Prior to the fire, we were able to renovate nine of our children's homes, all much in need of
renovations after providing a home for decades to hundreds of deserving children. At this time, we
must now rebuild the three homes which we lost in the fire and renovate six more. The six homes
which need to be renovated must indeed be rebuilt, to replace the old barracks-style buildings that
have existed since the Village's initial construction. It is very clear to us that as the rebuilding at the
Village begins, there will be children living in very new and well-equipped homes while others will
return to their old and unsuitable children's homes. We seek to avoid this discrepancy and we wish
to provide for all of our children the comfortable and homey environment which they deserve to
have.
As fate would have it, the homes which most needed renovation were unharmed by the fire.
Built in the 1950's, the homes were built hastily and without much thought to the homes'
long term needs. The drainage, sewage and water networks in the homes are in need of
repair as are the floor tiles. These conditions are particularly difficult for the many children
who live at the Village year round. “S” spent several years in institutions and orphanages in
the FSU before coming to Israel: “I don’t like to say such things because I feel so lucky to be
here after what I’ve been through, but it is impossible to make my room look decent … and
it’s hard to study when shelves keep falling off the walls. I can’t imagine what it would be
like to have my own space, to have that kind of privacy.”
We would love to provide our youngsters and teenagers with comfortable accommodations
which create for them a feeling of coziness and warmth, as opposed to the feeling that they
have been placed in an institution. This is paramount, Yemin Orde believes, to helping them
overcome past traumas and equipping them to integrate into Israeli society. One of the
pillars of our educational philosophy is "deinstitutionalizing" the institution, and creating as
close to a home-like atmosphere as possible.
The new homes will be designed to provide the youngsters a feeling of hominess, privacy
and space. The homes will contain a clubroom and a staff home for live-in staff and their
families. The staff members live for the most part in two or three-bedroom ground-floor
houses (bungalows), depending on the size of their own families, or in apartments located
within the children's homes. These are often far from the ideal living conditions that Yemin
Orde would like to provide for its staff members and their families. With work becoming
more intensive each year in light of the increasingly treatment-oriented needs of children
and teenagers who are now coming to Yemin Orde, it is even more important now that we
provide our live-in staff with comfortable working homes.
The project:
In addition to the above, please find attached the proposed project plan from the architect.
The main goal of this is project is to improve the daily functioning of the village in the
following ways:



safety and emergency preparedness
Safe separation between village in forest in case of future fire
Improvement in quality of life within the village by directing traffic around the
village, as opposed to though it (as it is today)
Secondary goals – the grounds and the main road



The main road, giving access to all locations of the Village, will surround the village
as opposed to going through it.
The planned road will provide a two-way entrance, which will allow pedestrians and
visitors easier and safer movement within the village.
Scenic promenade for tourists in front of the eastern slopes of the Carmel Forest