כפר נהר הירדן – חוויית נופש מעצימה לילדים המתמודדים עם מחלות כרוניות, גנטיות ומחלות מסכנות חיים
Jordan River Village is an overnight camp for children living with chronic, genetic or life threatening diseases and for children with special needs. We provide unique and empowering experiences for campers through unforgettable, fun, and medically safe programs for children and their families and always free of charge.
The Village is located in Israel’s Lower Galilee, near Giva’t Avni, on more than 60 acres with breathtaking view.
We are a proud member of Paul Newman’s SeriousFun Children’s Network, an association of 16 camps worldwide.
The types of diseases supported at the Village are determined by our medical advisory board. Some of the diseases supported are Cancer, Type 1 Diabetes, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Rheumatoid Disorders, Hemophilia, Thalassemia, Cerebral Palsy, Endocrine Disorders, liver and kidneys transplants, and Heart & Blood Vessel Diseases.
At the Village there is an innovative medical center, MediClub, staffed by doctors and nurses that are skilled at caring for children. At the MediClub our medical staff and volunteers care for any camper’s medical needs.

The session activities and programs are focused on the children themselves and not on their disease. The goals are to improve their self-confidence by providing the same safe, unique and unforgettable experiences as a healthy kids receive. These activities encourage campers’ support and mutual aid and reinforce the feeling that they are not alone. Each and every activity emphasizes achievement and not competition.
The children participate in a wide variety of activities and workshops such as: Adventure park, drama, music, wood-burning, cooking, archery, horse riding, swimming, sports, talent shows, etc. The facilities and activities are fully accessible to different disabilities and for wheelchairs.
Jordan River Village held its first session in August 2001. Since then, we have hosted more than 11,500 campers. In every session we host up to 64 children, in small groups supported by volunteer counselors.
At the Village, a group of 20 year-round volunteers, serve as our core counselors, all of whom do wonderful work and give the best of themselves to every camper.
We invite children and their families to register for one our wonderful sessions and celebrate life with us!


חזון כפר נהר הירדן
SUPPORT CHILDREN, OF ALL BACKGROUNDS FROM ISRAEL AND SURROUNDING AREAS, TO REACH BEYOND THEIR MEDICAL CONDITIONS THROUGH FREE CAMP PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO FOSTER FUN, INDEPENDENCE, RESILIENCE, AND PERSONAL GROWTH.
הוועד המנהל
המייסדים – מורי ומרילין גרנט ז"ל
נשיא הכפר – חיים טופול
יו"ר הועד המנהל- פרופ' יעקב רמון
סגנית יו"ר הוועד המנהל - שרה להט
יגאל גלי
יורם בליזובסקי
ד"ר יעקב פרבשטיין
נירה דרור
שלי רמון
אביבה פטרבורג
אלי אלוני
שמואל פרידמן
חוה בר שי גלס
סנדרה שפירא
טליה ברגר
רותי דנציגר
מוטי דותן
דוד בן זאב
קטיה סיטרין
איל אדרעי
ד"ר משה פפא
צוות הכפר
יובל חלמיש - מנכ"ל
יקיר שטרנין – סמנכ"ל
ד"ר הרצל גבריאל – מנהל רפואי
יפעת בוקיש - מזכירת הכפר
לאוניד קרל – מנהל מחלקת אחזקה ומשק
נטע ריינר נצר - מנהלת מחלקת התנדבות
גל דובו-גליקמן - מנהלת מחלקת הדרכה
מירית בוחבוט – מנהלת מחלקת תיאום ורישום
נויא ברעם – מנהלת פיתוח משאבים
עמיר טוויג – מנהל קשרי קהילה
מייקל מן – מנהל שיווק
טלי דינלטון-שץ - אחות ראשית
גלית עמית - מנהלת משאבי אנוש
אתי גבאי חן – רכזת שיווק בי"ח ומרפאות
מורן חלפון – רכזת מחזורי נופש
רוחמה עבו אקריס - מנהלת חשבונות
ליאור זוסמן אגמון – דיאטנית
ניזאר בזדוג - עובד אחזקה ומפעיל את בריכת השחייה
אוהד רום - עובד אחזקה ומפעיל את בריכת השחייה
עינב מוקריה - מנהלת מתחמים
דרורה לביא - מתנדבת
אורנה אביגד - מתנדבת במחלקת התנדבות
נועה גבאי - מתנדבת
גבי הנדל - מתנדב
Jordan River Village Educational approach
As a member of SeriousFun Children’s Network, Jordan River Village adheres to a philosophy of fun combined with therapeutic programs to help campers see beyond their medical conditions to experience the magic of childhood. These principles include:
- Offering programs that are always free of charge
- Maintaining a fully handicap accessible and adaptable campus which is appropriate for various populations
- Providing constant medical support
- Extensive use of volunteers who are employed to create the Villages’ special atmosphere
- Creating vibrant projects with purposefully designed programs to foster fun, success, learn life skills, and discover new things
Our educational approach has four goals which in combination helps create the special culture of the Village.
1. Fun & Joy– Jordan River Village provides an opportunity for children living with serious illnesses to experience overnight camp. Our goal is to get the child dive into an environment where he/she has the opportunity to have new and fun experiences, entertainment, laughter and friendship – all the beautiful things in life. For the child, everything should flow naturally from the first moment they enter the Village till they depart. Even with the sharing of difficult memories and complex stories about their disease, children will gain a sense of well-being and belonging from the opportunity to share their story with a new friend, and to find a sympathetic ear and a warm and caring heart.
2. Experience Success– “I did it” is an important sentence in kid’s life. For children who attend the Village this sentence is usually linked to a painful medical exam, a surgery, procedure, or complex healing process. At the Village, the children experience a week of a different kind of success– challenges and games, activities and sports, performances and art. Here we focus on the journey towards success. Regardless of scope, each success is important—that is why we enable children to select the areas where they would like to be challenged. The final product has its own importance whether it is an emotional experience or physical accomplishment – it symbolizes a big step forward. Campers learn that their inner abilities have passed major tests in their lives and these successes are good and positive.
3. Social Cohesion– We often hear from our campers that parents do not understand their difficult experiences and what they are going through, especially the social impact. For this reason, we believe that the friendships formed at the Village are critical. The most notable experiences from the session are generally linked to the relationship with other kids or counselors. Campers connect on a very deep and emotional level that enable them to break down barriers and grow stronger from their new friendships. As one child said: “with children like me, I am most free”. In most of our sessions we welcome campers from various cultural and religious backgrounds, different geographic regions, and of different ages. The campers find that even through they have big differences, they also have a lot in common, and building from that commonality is how they create strong and lasting friendships.
4. Opportunity to Reveal New Content Worlds– A critical part of childhood is exploring something new. This concept indicates that the child’s soul is limitless. For a sick child, these opportunities can be limited or much harder to acquire. At Jordan River Village we always work to give our campers innovative workshops and community activities. Every camper has the opportunity to experience something new – culinary, art, drama, music and our adventure tower. Our activities are designed to focus on the emotional experience. To ride a horse, you need to acquire technique, but the experience, the feeling of being on a horse, to guide and to mentor him, to watch his world from the saddle is about the emotional experience.
The Village’s rules –Throughout our programs the Village promotes a positive psychological approach because a positive outlook strengthens the camp atmosphere and encourages the success of our campers. Whereas we want all campers to challenge themselves and take safe risks at the Village, to ensure camper safety we create clear limits and boundaries that are reinforced through logical consequences.
We act in order to:
- Offset some of the emotional and physical effects that their diseases and treatments cause.
- Reinforce the children’s positive approach over time and improve self-esteem and courage that will last beyond their stay at the Village.
- Give hope and help the children to forget their disease, even for a short period of time.
- Teach the children how to cope better with the daily challenges and build a sense of personal value.
- Encourage emotional strength.
The Village counselors are dynamic, positive energetic and fun. Most of them are, weekly volunteers and year-round youngsters. Each volunteer and staff receive intensive training on how to work with children and teenagers who are living with life-limiting diseases. We aspire our staff to provide campers with strength and positive energy, which creates a special atmosphere at the Village. The staff help create meaningful relationships between the kids and themselves. They are also responsible for managing all the session activities.
Ethical Code
Jordan River Village is a nonprofit voluntary association (NGO) that is supported by volunteers, philanthropic dollars, government grants, and friends in Israel and around the world. Jordan River Village is recognized by the State of Israel as having a unique
• facility specifically purposed for children living with serious illnesses and special needs
• educational vision
• child-centric programming
• model for the psycho-social treatment of sick children and teenagers. Studies have shown that positive experiences can benefit a child’s healing process by improving self-esteem, self-confidence and their tools for coping with their illness. We apply this principle to all activities and experiences at the Village. Jordan River Village’s work centers on 3 core values:
Love – Love permeates everything we at the Village. We strive to create a joyful and happy environment where camper experience self-pride, support their peers, empathize with others, and enable each other to succeed.
Respect – At the Village every child is an individual with specialized needs. All staff, volunteers, and other campers acknowledge individuality and desire to be special while trying to build an empowered community of kids who each struggle with living with a serious illness.
Safety – The Village has clear rules and boundaries to ensure safety and stability. We vigilantly employ these standards to ensure that all children and staff are safe and able to experience the full fun camp experience. The Village is a pluralistic project with children and staff coming from different cultural backgrounds, religions and socio-economic levels. The Village staff ensure that we provide each child with a welcoming environment where all their needs are taken care of. We reject any form of discrimination. The Village welcomes children from neighboring countries with life-limiting conditions to enjoy the camp experience as well. Jordan River Village is fully committed to the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Village seeks to be a local and international model of friendship, treatment for children with special needs and life-limiting conditions, and providing for the well-being and happiness of each child that comes through our gates. It is used as a blueprint for our educational philosophy, behavioral approach and for all interactions between the employees, volunteers and campers at the Village. Everybody who comes to the Village, staff, students, volunteers, visitors, and lay leaders, are bound by these principles.
Our Friends Organizations
United Kingdom Friends of JRV
The United Kingdom Friends of JRV works to support the Jordan River Village through a variety of events and donations.
The UK Friends of JRV is a registered tax exempt organization and has obtained a gift=aid status.
United Kingdom Trustees of JRV:
Gordon Hausmann
Gail Ronson
Chaim Topol
If you are interested in making a donation through the United Kingdom Friends of Jordan River Village, please contact:
UK Friends of the Jordan River Village
Ch. Hausmann and Co.
5 De Walden Court
85 New Cavendish Street
London W1W 6XD
UK
Tel: 44-207-436 6333
E-mail : gordon@chhausmann.co.uk
American Friends of Jordan River Village (AFJRV)
AFJRV supports Jordan River Village, where children of all backgrounds living with serious illnesses in the Middle East can reach beyond their medical conditions to experience the fun and healing benefits of overnight camp at no cost We accomplish our mission through fundraising activities, public outreach, and community engagement. AFJRV is a US registered 501(c)(3)—all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. AFJRV Board of Directors: Claude Bernstein- Chairman Toby Deutsch Sara Lahat Yvette Lowenthal-Mulderry Kayla Niles Avishay Nachon Neil Ruben Ariella Saperstein Michelle J. Schwartz Elaine Shay William Weitzer
To make a donation click here >> For more information, get involved, or have questions, please contact: Gail Androphy, Executive Director 244 Madison Avenue, Suite 482 New York, NY 10016 888-999-3054 gail@afjrv.org
Organizaional Transparency
As a Non-Profit Organization, that is supported by donations, organizational transparency is very important to us. Below you can view and download our Voluntary Association documents.