Since the 450 rockets fired at us in November it had been quiet… until last Friday Morning when we heard the “Tesva Adom” alarms once again sound here in Sderot. As a results of that attack many parents did not send their children to school. Classrooms that normally have 28 students only had 10.

This morning terrorists in Gaza fired a J80 missile which has more than 100 kilometers range and carries a 125-km warhead. The biggest Kassam rockets carry a 10 Km warhead and have a range of up to 10 kilometers. What they used this morning hit a house injuring all 7 people in the home.

Israel vowed to retaliate and the IDF started this new operation just a few hours ago. Hamas and every other terrorist organization in Gaza warned Israel, that if it attacked Gaza, they would “respond with full force to any Israeli military operation and Israel will pay an extreme price”.

Sapir Collage will be closed tomorrow, all outdoor events have been canceled as well as any gathering of 300 people or more must be canceled. Depending what happens tonight with determine if schools will be open tomorrow or not. Once again we are glued to the news and jumping to every boom we hear, street are empty and some shops have closed.

Living on the edge of your chair is the norm for parents and children alike and we try to go on as normal as possible; although this is our normal.

Over the past three months we have been investing a great deal of time, effort and recourses into one of the largest schools here in Sderot.

There is not one child in this school of 650 children that knows what life is without the constant threat of a terrorist rocket attack. In fact every child that has been born in Sderot for the past 18 years don’t know what it like to live without that daily threat.
We are helping some of these children by making sure they have something to eat in the morning at school. It may be just a simple cheese or peanut butter sandwich but it their little bellies.

In spite of the ongoing stress these children face they still try to live normal lives, like during Purim; but teachers are faced with behaver problems and very short attention spans. To help combat this we are sponsoring a few different programs to help combat the effects of the never ending terrorist attacks

Each week the teachers pick one outstanding child from each class and we congratulate them for a job well do; which usually includes chocolate milk and some kind of special snack.

Out of the 25 class rooms three of them on Fridays receive some kind of sweet treat. Now for those of you that say “but you would be better off giving them something healthier”… rest assured that everyday every classroom has access to all the fresh fruit and miniature vegetables.

Some of our supporters have sent us boxes with toys, games and art supplies which we have been able to use to reward children for good behavior.

While we are there, which is every day, we come with a smile, a hug and a word of encouragement and for students and teachers alike.

Over the past few months we have been able to build a few special pieces of furniture for different classroom. We just finished re-painting a class room they use for boys with behavioral problems. We hope to get some wall stickers and border decals to finish the project.

We are doing our best to encourage these children and a big part of that comes from them knowing that there are people in this world whom they have never met, that love them, stand with them and support them when they feel the whole world is against them; it also makes a big impact on the teachers as well.

To add to this, there are still families we help with food each week and we are hoping we will be able to help those who call on us during Passover.

All that we have done and all that we hope to do is because of your love and generosity. From the bottom of our hearts we say “Thank You” and we hope and pray for your continued support.