Rosalie Whitehill, New York:
I have enjoyed so many special things on this trip, but few as much as a trip we were taken on this week -- a trip so inspirational, awesome, and fantastic. Yesterday, our plan was to visit Aleh Negev in the Negev. We rode down there with our sensational guide, Neil, who pointed out all of the sights surrounding our bus as we traveled. We drove south paralleling Gaza which was on our left (toward the sea) and passed S'derot (on the right) where the rockets from Gaza often land. We learned that the Israelis no longer go down to their shelters for short term periods; they each have a safe room in their apartment that they can access in seconds. We also learned about the Besor River and the reservoirs where sewage water from the Tel Aviv area is sent to be recycled and then used to make the desert bloom. The desert was blooming when we saw it -- with lots of wildflowers as well as fruit orchards and foods that are grown in huge hot houses.

Neil told us about Aleh Negev - a residential home for very severely mentally and physically disabled adults. The people in this place, many of whom will never speak a word, are too disabled to even live at home. The facility was started by a very well known and accomplished army general; his son was one of the residents there. The general, Doron Almong, was going to meet with us, but unfortunately his son died the week before. The coordinator at the facility, Susan, read Doron's eulogy to his son. It was so touching that I cried a bit, and even Susan had some difficulty getting through all of it.

When we arrived at Aleh Negev everything looked new and there was lots of building going on. It opened only 3 months ago, and although they now have 70 residents, they will eventually accommodate more than 200. In addition to providing physical therapy, they’ll provide water therapy, art therapy, and horses for some riding therapy. All of the equipment there is state of the art and seeing the residents during their physical therapy and art therapy classes was very moving. They will also treat about 2000 non-residential disabled people. We also visited their hospital facility which will open in a few weeks to care for severely mentally and physically damaged young people. The government pays about 70% of the cost of staying in the residence, but other funds are needed. I lack the vocabulary skills to adequately explain how truly inspirational it was to visit Aleh Negev. This was definitely the highlight of my 2007 trip to Israel.

We spent so much time at the Aleh Negev facility that we were too late for our scheduled talk at one of the reservoirs of the Besore River. Nevertheless, we went and viewed it up close; Neil provided explanations for us. We had lunch at Kibbutz Mitzpe G'vulot, an agricultural kibbutz that is now privatized and hosts visitors.

After lunch we met with a young man from the Hugai Sayarut group. Youngsters join the group and can go on a tiyul (trip) once a month where they learn more about Eretz Yisrael. Our guide was a very enthusiastic young man who is working with Hugai Sayarut for a year after the army. He particularly likes to show people the spot that matches an incident in the Bible, and he brought along little costumes (mostly headpieces) for us to act out the story. This one was about David recapturing the women who were taken by Malachites. I played the part of one of David's followers, and I may soon see a picture of me in my headdress on the internet! After our little dramatization, we walked for another hour and a half through the park, enjoying all the wildflowers in bloom. We sang lots of old songs on the way back on the bus -- the end to a wonderful day including outstanding weather again!!!

Thelma Shore, Toronto:

At 7:45 on a bright and sunny Monday morning we set out from our hotel in Tel Aviv for a day in the Negev. Our first stop was at Aleh Negev. This is a beautiful new facility in Ofakim, one of the development towns in the Negev. This is the latest of four facilities established by a group of committed parents of severely disabled children. Major General Doron Almog was one of the driving forces behind this. Unfortunately, his 24 year old son, who lived at Aleh Negev, passed away a few days before our visit. These bright and airy residences serve young adults from the age of 15. There is also a new hospital which will be opening shortly. The hospital will take in babies and children with special needs. Future plans call for a swimming pool, horse stables, and a pet therapy area. We saw craft rooms and a physiotherapy area. This project is supported by JNF - USA.

Our next stop was at the Besore region reservoirs. The beautiful orchards and planting is made possible by the water from these reservoirs. Another JNF project! We had a delicious lunch at Kibbutz Gvulot, as well as a talk about the establishment of the kibbutz by Hashomer Hatzair. Following the lunch we hiked through an area covered with beautiful spring flowers - white, yellow, mauve, and red. The desert was in full bloom! A young man with Hugay Sayarut was our guide - telling us about the plants and flowers. This is a youth movement similar to scouting - taking your people on hikes, camping out, and teaching them to love nature. Another JNF project. We returned to Tel Aviv tired, but invigorated after a sunny, warm, and inspirational day in the desert.