Yad Sarah, an Israeli volunteer organization, has been approved by the United Nations for association with the Department of Public Information (DPI). Of 26 NGOs (non-governmental organizations) approved this year, Yad Sarah is the only one from the Middle East. Only eight other Israeli associations have this status, including Women' s International Zionist Organization (WIZO), the Peres Peace Center, and B'Tzelem. The total number of organizations worldwide with this status is some 1,400.
Yad Sarah is an Israel-wide network of volunteers aiding sick, disabled, elderly, isolated and housebound people, with an array of services aimed at making home care possible. It is the leading volunteer organization in Israel, staffed by over 6,000 voluntary workers in 100 branches countrywide. Yad Sarah states that on only a slim budget of $13 million, raised from donations, it saves the government over $300 million a year by providing home-based services to those that need them.
Yad Sarah serves as a model for health and welfare professionals in many other countries, who have sought to replicate its unique approach in their own communities. The UN approval, which enables Yad Sarah representatives to attend all open meetings of UN bodies as observers, will facilitate the efforts to bring Yad Sarah's activities to the attention of other countries and similar organizations around the world.
Yad Sarah is an Israel-wide network of volunteers aiding sick, disabled, elderly, isolated and housebound people, with an array of services aimed at making home care possible. It is the leading volunteer organization in Israel, staffed by over 6,000 voluntary workers in 100 branches countrywide. Yad Sarah states that on only a slim budget of $13 million, raised from donations, it saves the government over $300 million a year by providing home-based services to those that need them.
Yad Sarah serves as a model for health and welfare professionals in many other countries, who have sought to replicate its unique approach in their own communities. The UN approval, which enables Yad Sarah representatives to attend all open meetings of UN bodies as observers, will facilitate the efforts to bring Yad Sarah's activities to the attention of other countries and similar organizations around the world.