Ayanot Youth Village High School

Nice to meet you, my name is Matan Bar, an AYANOT graduate from 2014. Today I am 27 years old, living in Ashdod, serving in the Israel Prison Service, studying for my bachelor’s degree in Criminology, and most importantly, I too had the privilege of being part of the AYANOT family.

I had the privilege to learn, grow, and develop in this place during 3 very significant years that shaped who I am today. Between walks in the orchard, conversations at the club, general evening activities and Friday disco, and making good friends who are still with me today, this is my place to say thank you:

Thank you to AYANOT Youth Village for raising whole generations of youth who want to succeed, who aren’t afraid to aspire and achieve goals, for endless support and love, thank you for this warm home. I am proud to tell everyone that thanks to AYANOT, I learned that family is indeed something you can choose.

My name is Ludmila Elman, an AYANOT graduate from 2004. I came to Israel in 1999 at age 13 with my mother and older sister, who also studied at AYANOT. During my studies at AYANOT, I learned the language, mentality, made new friends, and graduated with a full high school diploma.

In the army, I served at the Behavioral Sciences Center as a technical materials coordinator while simultaneously working to help my mother with household expenses. Today, I am married and a mother to three wonderful daughters aged nine, six and a half, and two. We live in Rishon LeZion, and I work at Israel Aerospace Industries as an Administrative Head Assistant.

Israel Aerospace Industries is a defense company that develops satellites, missiles, UAVs, and more, and I am proud that during these days IAI is contributing its part to Israel’s war effort.

I completed my bachelor’s degree at the Open University in Chemistry and Management, a degree that opened doors and advanced me in the employment world.

It’s hard to believe how much time has passed since I first stepped foot in the village. I was only 14 and a half, with no big dreams or aspirations, arriving in a relatively lost state, with no chance of matriculation – at least that’s what my previous school had decided. The village, counselors, administrators, and even my National Service friends truly saw me, and gave me love, education, culture, circles of friendship, and most importantly, opportunity. That opportunity helped me develop myself and understand what I wanted to do with my life, whether through the running group where I discovered I could run 10km without stopping, or in the music room where I had space for myself and everything I wanted to create. I was always given a stage – theater, Poyke nights, “Acharai” field programs, and the list goes on and on.

Life in the village gave me tools to deal with everything I would encounter in life. They never gave up on me and never let me give up for a moment. In this place, I knew that if I fell, someone would always be there to catch me, even today. Even now, eight years after graduating, the village still embraces me and continues to see me. Shortly after we left, they created a WhatsApp group where Aliza sends daily messages about job openings, possible scholarships, and regular updates. They update our details in the system every year or two, and even just call to check how I’m doing. I’ve never known such a supportive framework – even after we’ve supposedly finished our role in the village, the village hasn’t finished its role with us.

AYANOT is truly home. I want to thank from the bottom of my heart, Aliza, for all the good you do for us, the alumni. Many thanks to Mr. David Yativ, CEO of Python Company, who donates every year to village graduates and helps promote success! And thanks to Noam, who is even available on WhatsApp for his graduates. Of course, by 12th grade this wasn’t enough for me, and I continued to the “Gal” pre-military academy in Acre, where I also served as National Service volunteer at Manof Youth Village. From there, I enlisted in the army, serving as a basic training commander in the Air Force. I dove a bit deeper into getting to know the diverse and complex population we have here in Israel.