The Israeli nonprofit Ofanim, founded in 2004 by Dr. Chaim Dahan, promotes equal opportunities in STEM education for children in Israel’s rural communities. The organization has concentrated their efforts in the north of Israel, where many communities have been under the threat of attack, including our sister city of Afula. In 2024, Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford supported Ofanim’s work with a $50,000 investment, powered by Israel & Overseas funding and donations to our Israel Emergency Fund. As a result of our community’s support, Ofanim is able to serve 100 students in the city of Afula alone.

For the past two decades, Ofanim has offered state-of-the-art STEM education to children living in Israel’s remote and underserved communities. At the heart of their mission are their mobile learning labs—buses transformed into high-tech classrooms with computers, robotics equipment, and science tools. These "classrooms on wheels" travel to remote areas where students might otherwise lack access to advanced STEM education, providing hands-on learning experiences in robotics, computer programming, and other technological fields. Each mobile lab serves 270 children each year—and in 2024 alone, 6,000 children climbed aboard for hands-on instruction that Ofanim hopes will lead to lifelong learning. 

However, the attacks of October 7 brought new urgency to the organization’s work: Distressed and often displaced, Ofanim’s students needed more than just a state-of-the-art education—they needed stability. Young people’ in Israel suffered from personal traumas and shuttered schools. The organization responded by expanding their activities in evacuated and displaced communities. "[We] helped provide stability and an education framework to these children who desperately needed a sense of normalcy," said Risa Kelemer, Ofanim's North American Development Manager. In addition to increased programming, Ofanim offered students trauma-informed care, and provided resilience training for all staff.

 

In the upcoming year, Ofanim plans to introduce two new mobile labs, allowing their fleet of six labs to bring the world of STEM to even more communities. More than 96 percent of Ofanim’s graduates achieve the highest scores possible on their high-school completion exams, and nearly the same percentage report that Ofanim had a significant impact on their self-confidence. “Ofanim taught me things about myself and gave me tools for life,” said a ten-year-old participant. “I didn’t believe I could do it, but I succeeded. I like science now.”