AKIM ISRAEL

Just recently I found out who she is and why her picture took pride of place on her country's national bus line. Linik, who has Down syndrome, won three gold medals in the Special Olympics held in Ireland last summer. These were victories in which AKIM, the largest provider of services for people with intellectual disabilities in Israel, played a major role.

Daniel Bar-Am, director of the international department of AKIM ISRAEL, and Mark Cohen, vice president, development of Friends of AKIM USA, Inc., were in Cleveland a few weeks ago; they shared with me Elinor Linik's story and the larger story of the organization that helped give meaning to her life.

Elinor's parents (who later divorced) "couldn't cope" with the prognosis for their newborn and basically abandoned her in the hospital. Thankfully, the infant's grandmother took her home to live with her.

The grandmother also got in touch with AKIM, which has 56 branches all over Israel and provides services to 30,000 intellectually impaired individuals, ranging from infants to senior citizens. The organization also helps the 120,000 family members who must learn to cope with the demands of these special-needs people. As does Elinor's grandmother.

When Elinor was old enough, her grandmother began taking her to AKIM every afternoon for swim lessons and to work with a trainer. Their persistence paid off and, as Elinor poignantly told an interviewer following her triple Olympic win in Ireland, "I wish my parents could see me now."

In fact, "seeing" these individuals and accepting them in society is one of AKIM's key goals. "AKIM makes a point of having its hostels (for mentally impaired adults) inside the community so people can see and appreciate them," notes Bar-Am. AKIM also tries to build its hostels, housing between 20-24 people each, not too far from the parents, so residents can go home for Shabbat.

Sadly, securing permission to build these much-needed hostels is often an uphill battle. "Sometimes we have to wait 20 years to get a permit to build in a city," admits Bar-Am. The objections to building are mainly "out of ignorance," and once permission is granted, those neighbors initially against a hostel sometimes volunteer there.

Those who don't need hostel care and are capable of living more independently are instructed how to be on their own - but with outside supervision. Depending on these young persons' potential, AKIM trains them for jobs either in the general world or in sheltered workshops.

First, however, are all the years from birth to 21 when most of these children live at home.

"In the beginning, families think their world has crashed in on them," explains Bar-Am. Then they see these children are "a blessing."

Blessing or not, these parents and caregivers need help, which AKIM provides - all for free. Up to age three, the children attend a special kindergarden run by AKIM. From ages 3 to 21, the Israeli government provides education for these youngsters. But the school day ends early in Israel, so AKIM steps in with a wide variety of after-school activities and options. These include horseback riding, kayaking, dance, art and, of course, swimming at the different branches. Volunteer parents help run these branches.

For one week every summer, AKIM camps are held in hotels in Eilat and Tiberias. It's a huge undertaking, admits Bar Am. "Like a military operation."

In addition to being the official representative of the Special Olympics in Israel, AKIM also has a Very Special Arts Israel program.These include painting, sculpture, drama and dance. Last Succot, at the country's largest contemporary arts festival in Tel Aviv, a special exhibit was titled "Art with Heart." The installation presented a selection of original works by mentally challenged artists.

Five years ago, Ilon Hason, an Israeli artist with cerebral palsy, won first prize in a similar exhibit sponsored by the Louvre in Paris.

"Art offers these special souls an avenue of communication (that) speech does not," notes AKIM's Web site (www.akim.org.il/english/). Their art is often sold, which makes them feel part of society. "They don't feel different," explains Bar Am. "Society feels they are different."

And even that is changing, he adds. Today, the media is more attuned to these "hidden" citizens; some of the talk shows, for example, are inviting them to speak. In addition, plays about the handicapped, performed by them in the schools, raise the awareness of non-handicapped youngsters.

Israel wasn't always in such a good place . Fifty-five years ago when Israel was a fledgling state and the population was 650,000, there were 3,000 mentally handicapped, "but each family struggled," notes Bar Am. A few parents in those early days got together and decided to do something about their shared problem. They created a non-governmental organization (NGO) and asked that their kids have the same rights as normal kids. That's how AKIM was created.

Today, no Israeli family with a mentally challenged child has to feel alone, notes Bar Am. Of the 30,000 children in this category, 5,000 are new immigrants. Most of the latter are Russian. When the Ethiopian immigrants first arrived, there were virtually no mentally challenged individuals among them. That's because they didn't survive the arduous journey that ultimately brought their brethren to Israel.

But now that the Ethiopians are leading normal lives in Israel, they too, have handicapped youngsters.

Today, as a mark perhaps of its own maturity, AKIM is on the verge of building its first hostel for the elderly mentally handicapped. In that population, "elderly" begins at age 40; "that's when they face the kinds of problems normal people begin facing at age 70," explains Bar Am.

AKIM's annual budget is $15 million, 75% of which is provided by the Israeli government plus private Israeli donations. They hope to raise the remaining 25% from concerned individuals abroad.

All AKIM services are free to its clients.

"The same way we assist the Jewish Agency in getting people to Israel," explains development director Cohen, "AKIM has to help people adjust to Israeli society."

Or, as one Israeli mom expresses it on a video about the organization, "Without AKIM I'd be lost."

For more information on AKIM,visit our website www.akim.org.il/english/