Our highschool teachers Mr. and Mrs. Bargad are on their sabbatical. They're here in Israel for the year so they decided to have all Flatbush graduates for Shabbat. They live in Pardes Chana, 2 hours away from Jerusalem. They were super organized and had a coach bus pick us all up from the Inbal. That bus was ligit a Flatbush seminar bus. 
Jamie Baum (hey, shoutout!) ((CLASSIC-ly)) organized tons of the details. It seriously wouldn't of happened without her
By the way they didn't speak a word of English. Not even "yes" or "no". I got a lottttt of practice 
So Neve Michael serves 250 children ages 4-18 years old from all over Israel who were brought to their doorstep at a tender age and under traumatic circumstances. Many have suffered mental/physical/sexual abuse . In many cases, these unfortunate children’s natural parents are afflicted with mental illness or drug and alcohol addictions.
We spent Shabbat with these Gorgous kids. I couldnt wrap my head around how they seemed like that led normal lives. The girls I looked after had come from really rough homes. I can't even imagine what life is like for them. Not even close. (ברוךה׳)
Sitting in shul Friday night I looked around and just got so sad for these kids. Their emotional state seemed okay from where I was but a whole world of thoughts were flowing through each and every kids head. They all have a story.
One of my favorite parts of the weekend was chilling with my grade. If you asked me to go to a grade gathering 6 months ago you would of had to pay me. I was sick and tired of obnoxious highschool kids. It's incredible what 5-6 months in a wholesome environment can do to a person. The level of conversations that were going on was amazing. Looking around the room, I heard that everyone was discussing what they learned that week or having a debate over a philosophical issue. That's the way 18-19 year olds SHOULD be interacting. I was thrilled to see us actually becoming adults who use our brains for the first time in our lives.
Another thing is like to acknowledge is the people who work at Neve Michael. The volunteers are mostly Bnot Sherut doing their national service. These girls are going straight to Olam Habah בעזרת-ה׳ I'm telling you they are some of the hardest workers and most patient people I have ever met in my life. You don't know what looking after crazy Israeli kids is like. Now....you don't know what RAISING them is like. These volunteers start from my age. They literally bring up these girls from the moment they get put into the home until they turn 17 and go to the army. It's really crazy.
Neve Michael is really an organized institution and it caters to each kids needs. If it were a boarding school, I'd send my kids. It's comforting to see how these kids from various horrifying backgrounds are in really loving, committed and dedicated hands.
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