Open Door operates throughout Israel with diverse populations.

Below you can learn more about some of our special projects within various communities in Israel.

​

Wonder Girl

Wonder Girl provides groups of 15 Ethiopian-Israeli girls ages 14-16 from at-risk communities, with a series of educational workshops on topics surrounding emotional and physical intimacy. Workshop topics include gender roles and gender differences, female self-esteem and body image, and beliefs and opinions in relation to sex and sexuality. Additional focus is placed on courtship, intimacy and love, sexual vulnerability, red flags in a relationship, domestic violence, and strengthening multi-generational communication in the family.

​

Women in Bloom
Women in Bloom provides at-risk teenage girls ages 13 to 18 with preventative health education through sexual health and intimacy workshops. These girls are removed from their homes by court order as a result of physical, sexual, and/or severe emotional abuse or neglect, and typically spend up to four years at these boarding schools. Open Door staff works directly with the boarding school staff to create a sustainable sexual health education model, training approximately 20 staff members at each boarding school.

​

With You

Open Door has trained hundreds of volunteers throughout the country to provide close and attentive professional assistance to adolescent girls who do not receive support from their families during the pregnancy termination process. Without a family support system, and without emotional and logistical tools, it is exceedingly difficult for a young girl to cope with this process and its implications. Our volunteers act as the girl's family, talking to her about her apprehensions, answering phone calls in the middle of the night, and comforting her every step of the way.

HAGAM

Since 2004, Open Door has held workshops for the IDF as part of basic training for "special recruitment female soldiers" (HAGAM). During their basic training, Open Door provides soldiers with 12 hours of sexual health education workshops to help them discover their personal capabilities, increase their self-confidence, and develop the tools and skills needed to lead a healthy lifestyle that will allow them to succeed in both educational and professional frameworks.

 

Ambassador Project

The Ambassador Project brings together 20 teenagers from high schools across Beer Sheva to develop leadership skills with an emphasis on group responsibility for learning and teaching vital information on sexual health and sexuality. The project includes a four-stage curriculum that covers leadership development, sexual myths and stereotypes, body-image, and healthy relationships and sexuality; at the end of each module, the students complete a service initiative related to that topic. The final stage of the project involves the creation, planning, and implementation of pilot workshops that promote sexual health awareness, which the student ambassadors lead in schools across the city as part of Sexual Health Week.

 

Between You and Me Communication is Everything

This pilot project combines sexual health education with empowerment and healthy communication components to ensure at-risk teenage boys and girls are well-informed about the importance of communication with their sexual partners and have the tools to utilize this information in their own relationships. Workshop topics include: trust within relationships, communication and compromise at different stages of relationships, communication and expectations about sex, sex and alcohol, and discussion and use of contraception. Through these workshops the teenagers not only gain general knowledge of sexual health and healthy relationships, they also improve their self-image and confidence in communicating about relationships and their sexuality in a healthy way with potential sexual partners. This innovative approach is a response to both the #MeToo campaign and the lack of education in schools about appropriate and healthy communication with sexual partners.

​

Family Planning for Asylum Seekers

Family Planning for Asylum Seekers provides comprehensive sexual health and family planning information to asylum seeker women and men as well as access to vital health resources to ensure they live healthy and fulfilled lives. The program consists of two workshop series as well as an open house "Women's Health Day". Through these workshops, participants gain a better understanding of their own sexuality and reproductive health, and are empowered to become change agents and leaders in their community.