Tikkun 'Shoko' Houses – Social Clubs for Children
“The period of one’s childhood is not just a corridor to something else; it is a precious period in its own right. If we know how to give children their childhood, one that is a goal per se, one that occurs within a community that is positive, diverse and highly meaningful, we will be taking
another step forward in building a healthy and more just society.”
Quoted From the Shoko Houses vision
The Shoko Houses were built on the basis of a humanist educational worldview, which sees the child as a whole person belonging to ever-widening circles of family, peers and community. The Shoko Houses provide children with a safe space for benevolent childhood and embrace them with warm and nurturing personal relationships with meaningful adult figures. The children who come to a Shoko House enter an experiential world of encounters where they discover their own strengths and develop abilities that will accompany them throughout their lives. They participate in team-building activities combined with drama, carpentry and baking. They develop creativity by practicing plastic art and deepen their connection to the environment and nature through gardening and hikes. The Shoko Houses are clubs for children in Grades 1-6 that are open in the after-school hours in socio-geographically peripheral neighborhoods. The current Shoko Houses are in Nof HaGalil, Migdal HaEmek, and Rishon LeZion. The Shoko Houses constitute an open and safe community space in the heart of the neighborhood and provide a permanent educational-community response to the needs of hundreds of children every year.