Hadassah also supports Meir Shfeyah Youth Village, located outside of Zihron Ya’akov, which is funded by the Ministry of Education’s Rural Education Division. Six hundred youngsters, half of whom live in the village full-time, receive the love and attention plus the education that only our dedicated teachers can give them. The Bonnie Lipton Music Center is also the core of an exciting music program in the village.

The building of an authentic Ethiopian village, complete with roaming livestock, water well and circular huts called tikuls, is a classic example of the execution of the philosophy that guides the Meir Shfeyah village: learn by doing. Building these mock villages forces teens to come out of their seats, move away from their desks and computers and put their brains, as well as bodies, to work. In doing so, they cultivate a sense of pride in themselves as well as for the native lands from where they, or their friends, have come.

A few years ago, the parents of nearby Zihron Ya’akov petitioned the Ministry of Rural Education so that their children could attend classes at Meir Shfeyah, due to the outstanding educational standards they observed there. They won their petition and today almost half of the student body is comprised of these “externim”. The great news is that they all become one student body and there is camaraderie and solidarity and excellent education.

Solar Sysem Project

Meir Shfeyah intends to rent the roof of the cowshed for installation of a solar system to produce electricity.
The agreement with the system supplier is that the village will allow the supplier to use the system for a 20-year period.

Meir Shfeyah will receive a rental fee of 14 % of the gross income that will be derived from the sale of the electricity production.
The 14 % equals about NIS 20-24,000 per year.

In addition to the rental fee to the supplier will install an audiovisual system and Demo Solar system for an ecological and environmental study program. The supplier will support the program with professional lectures (3-4 times every year).

Meir Shfeyah will commit to allow the supplier to use the system for the full operational period (20 years).

In case the supplier is instructed to dismantle the system before the full operational period, the village will be obliged to compensate the supplier for the residual investment value of the system. The village estimates that the residual value of the investment after 10 years will be $ 150,000 +/-.
The contract outlines a formula to calculate the residual value which is based on original investment value plus yearly operational and financing costs minus income for the electricity sold to the Israeli Electricity Company. The income for the supplier is based on the secured price per kilowatt which is approximately NIS 2 / KW x production of about 85,000 KW per year (the standard price for regular consumer in Israel is approximately NIS 0.50 / KW).