More important for Tali, perhaps, is that she was recently chosen to coordinate activity for Mishal, acronym for the Israeli University Center for the Handicapped.
Twelve years ago, as a wheelchair-bound, 16-year-old high schooler, Tali decided to work actively for the rights of the handicapped and change the situation in Israel. Tali, who was left handicapped by an illness, encountered difficulties entering buildings and getting around since she was a 7th-grade student. Her school was not equipped to deal with her problem and instead of remedying the situation, it isolated her. She was forced to study on her own.
"The educational system made available teachers who came to my house," she remembers, "but only for four hours a week. So I was missing a lot when I wanted to go to high school, which made it difficult for me to fit in both educationally and socially."
Despite the difficulties, she graduated from high school and gained admission to university. But the bitter experience of the past helped her decide her future direction. "I personally will do everything I can so that other children do not have to experience what I went through," she says.
"I know that even today, there are cases of children who are wheelchair-bound and have to learn at home because classrooms and bathrooms are not suited for them." She then adds with determination, "In the year 2000, this is an unimaginable situation and must be changed."
Tali herself was lucky. Innovative treatment recently succeeded in releasing her from the wheelchair, and now she can walk about with crutches. As a handicapped teenager, she still managed to do national service in the community and get her law degree.
Today she lectures to students, as well as to social workers, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists on the legal rights of the handicapped. She is also excited about coordinating Mishal's activity. This center for education, empowerment, and research in regard to the handicapped was set up at the University of Haifa and is headed by Prof. Shunit Reiter of the Faculty of Education.
"One of the goals of the center is to open doors for those with limitations and provide them with training so they can fit into society, and into the community, as equals," Tali explains. "Often the handicapped are incorrectly stigmatized," she continues. "So another goal is to change that."
Currently the center operates a number of projects, among them projects for students with a slight mental handicap. "Coffee Without Limit," as one of these programs is called, enables some twenty youngsters with deficiencies to learn how to run a coffee shop or small cafeteria. Another project teaches computer skills to children, and still another introduces them to the world of literature.
"The projects," Tali offers with evident satisfaction, "enable youngsters to integrate into a regular framework."
The University of Haifa's Reiter makes it clear that "we are only at the beginning of the road. Our intention is to influence legislation in the area of furthering rights for the handicapped. We want to bring about a legal change in the area through cooperation with the Faculty of Law's legal clinic."
This article originally appeared in Haifa University's Focus Magazine.
Twelve years ago, as a wheelchair-bound, 16-year-old high schooler, Tali decided to work actively for the rights of the handicapped and change the situation in Israel. Tali, who was left handicapped by an illness, encountered difficulties entering buildings and getting around since she was a 7th-grade student. Her school was not equipped to deal with her problem and instead of remedying the situation, it isolated her. She was forced to study on her own.
"The educational system made available teachers who came to my house," she remembers, "but only for four hours a week. So I was missing a lot when I wanted to go to high school, which made it difficult for me to fit in both educationally and socially."
Despite the difficulties, she graduated from high school and gained admission to university. But the bitter experience of the past helped her decide her future direction. "I personally will do everything I can so that other children do not have to experience what I went through," she says.
"I know that even today, there are cases of children who are wheelchair-bound and have to learn at home because classrooms and bathrooms are not suited for them." She then adds with determination, "In the year 2000, this is an unimaginable situation and must be changed."
Tali Berkovitz, Coordinator for Mishal
Tali herself was lucky. Innovative treatment recently succeeded in releasing her from the wheelchair, and now she can walk about with crutches. As a handicapped teenager, she still managed to do national service in the community and get her law degree.
Today she lectures to students, as well as to social workers, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists on the legal rights of the handicapped. She is also excited about coordinating Mishal's activity. This center for education, empowerment, and research in regard to the handicapped was set up at the University of Haifa and is headed by Prof. Shunit Reiter of the Faculty of Education.
"One of the goals of the center is to open doors for those with limitations and provide them with training so they can fit into society, and into the community, as equals," Tali explains. "Often the handicapped are incorrectly stigmatized," she continues. "So another goal is to change that."
Currently the center operates a number of projects, among them projects for students with a slight mental handicap. "Coffee Without Limit," as one of these programs is called, enables some twenty youngsters with deficiencies to learn how to run a coffee shop or small cafeteria. Another project teaches computer skills to children, and still another introduces them to the world of literature.
"The projects," Tali offers with evident satisfaction, "enable youngsters to integrate into a regular framework."
The University of Haifa's Reiter makes it clear that "we are only at the beginning of the road. Our intention is to influence legislation in the area of furthering rights for the handicapped. We want to bring about a legal change in the area through cooperation with the Faculty of Law's legal clinic."
This article originally appeared in Haifa University's Focus Magazine.