When a child is hospitalized, their world is turned upside down. Once filled with school, friends, and routines, their days suddenly revolve around treatments, procedures, and uncertainty. In Israel, however, education is not left at the hospital’s door.
Thanks to the pioneering efforts of SASA-Setton, a nonprofit organization operating in 41 hospitals across the country, reaching more than 140,000 hospitalized children annually, and over 2 million children in total. Those children don’t just receive medical care- they also continue their education, keeping their minds engaged and their spirits lifted.
Sonia Gomes de Mesquita, the donor family representative, reflected on the meaningful impact of this initiative: "It is deeply meaningful to see this contribution sustaining such an extraordinary cause over many years. For more than 15 years, this initiative has stood as a testament to the donor's enduring legacy and values—bringing hope, education, and resilience to children during their most vulnerable moments. We are proud to see this long-standing vision continue to uplift and empower, providing stability and support where it is needed most."
Omer Givati, CEO of SASA-Setton, explains the organization’s unique mission. "Israel is the only country in the world with a law ensuring the education of sick children," he says. "Any child hospitalized for more than three days is entitled to continue their studies."
But the scope of SASA-Setton’s work goes far beyond academics. "The goal isn’t just to reduce educational gaps," Givati emphasizes. "It’s about creating a sense of normalcy, giving children a daily structure, and supporting their emotional resilience."
Education is not a luxury, it's an integral part of the healing process, contributing to both physical and emotional recovery. By engaging children’s minds and offering meaningful activities, education helps alleviate anxiety, foster a sense of control, and promote overall well-being during hospitalization.
The SASA-Setton educational model is far from a traditional school environment. Hospital classrooms are diverse in every way—age, background, language, and culture. Each child requires an individualized approach tailored to their medical condition and emotional state.
“Our work varies depending on the type of hospital,” Givati explains. “In general hospitals, where the average stay is 72 hours, the focus is on maintaining a sense of normalcy and providing children with tools that support their healing process.
One key approach is helping children prepare for medical procedures through guided explanations, anatomical models, and interactive tools like dolls. By role-playing the procedure on a doll—guiding it through the same process they will undergo—children gain a sense of control and emotional readiness, reducing fear and anxiety. In psychiatric hospitals, where hospitalizations are much longer, the focus extends to reducing educational gaps and preparing children for reintegration into their community schools.
This includes building resilience, fostering coping strategies, and addressing the social challenges they may face, such as stigma or emotional difficulties, following the life-altering experiences that led to hospitalization. Rehabilitative hospitals require a different approach, as children may face cognitive decline due to injury or illness.”
A key component of SASA-Setton’s success is its close collaboration with the dedicated educational teams provided by the Ministry of Education, alongside its own team of national service volunteers, instructors, and specialists in diverse fields.
Each hospital’s educational team, consisting of five to 120 teachers depending on the hospital’s size, ensures that learning is fully integrated into the medical environment. Complementing their work, SASA-Setton’s national service volunteers and professional facilitators specialize in diverse fields and work in full cooperation with the educational teams. In addition to traditional school subjects, children can engage in a range of enriching activities, such as robotics, science, art, music, therapeutic dog care, puzzles, and writing sessions with authors.
All these activities take place within the advanced educational spaces that the organization helped to establish in hospitals—designed with cutting-edge technology and innovation, and thoughtfully adapted to the unique realities of the hospital environment. “These activities allow children to continue learning in meaningful ways, fostering a sense of normalcy and emotional growth,” Givati says.
Regarding national service volunteers, he adds: “These 18-year-old volunteers are trained to work in a hospital environment,” Givati explains. “Sometimes, children struggle to connect with teachers, but they form close bonds with these young mentors, who serve as big sisters or brothers.”
These young women play a crucial role in identifying children’s emotional needs. “They are often the first to notice signs of distress, such as eating disorders or problems at home,” Givati says. “They help create a safe space where children can open up.”
For volunteers like Renana, a 20-year-old national service member at Schneider Children's Medical Center, adapting to this dynamic environment is both challenging and rewarding. “It’s like stepping into a school, but one that’s completely different in every way,” she says. “On my first day, I met a 10-year-old girl who just opened up to me about her surgery. The hospital classroom is their safe space—doctors don’t come in there. When she gave me a hug, I realized how much this meant to her.”
Education as a healing tool
Hospitalization can be traumatic for children, not just physically but emotionally. The loss of control over their daily lives can be overwhelming. SASA-Setton helps restore some of that control through education. “When a child enters a hospital, they experience trauma,” Givati explains. “Our role is to provide a structured, supportive environment where they feel empowered.”
Renana shares a similar experience: “There was a girl who had a life-saving surgery. At first, she didn’t even want to hear about school. But after spending time together, she decided she wanted to take her high school exams. We built her a study schedule, woke her up in the mornings, gave her assignments—everything! She ended up passing her exams. It was incredible to see how education helped her rebuild her confidence.”
She also remarked that communication could sometimes pose a challenge, although one that always leads to growth. “I had a five-year-old patient who only spoke Arabic,” she recalls. “Since he hadn’t started school yet, I couldn’t even read him books. But SASA-Setton provided us with multilingual learning kits, so I started picking up words in Arabic—colors, numbers, simple phrases. Through that, we began coloring together, and he felt seen and understood.”
The organization integrates technology in a meaningful way to engage children, not just as a tool for learning, but as part of a broader vision for their future. Interactive projectors, 3D printers, VR stations, and robotics do more than simply capture children’s attention – they ignite curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking, which are essential skills for their future success. SASA-Setton recognizes the importance of these fields in shaping both the child and society, offering an education that empowers children to adapt to an ever-evolving world.
This approach aligns with our broader social goals – to bridge gaps, foster resilience, and encourage personal growth, while making the most of technology’s potential to create an inclusive and forward-thinking environment for all. “I wish my own daughters could study in classrooms like these,” Givati jokes. “Even if a child isn’t studying in the traditional sense, they’re still activating their minds.”
A powerful example of SASA-Setton's fruitful collaboration with hospital educational teams can be seen at Schneider Children's Medical Center, where children in the dialysis ward took part in a special art exhibition called ‘The Light Within Me’.
This initiative brought together the hospital’s dedicated educational staff and an external art therapy specialist from SASA-Setton, creating a holistic support framework for hospitalized children. The project enabled the children to express their inner worlds through art, showcasing not only their personal struggles but also their resilience and hope.
The artworks, displayed in identical cardboard boxes symbolizing individual worlds, invited viewers to discover personal stories illuminated by symbols like a small, glowing jar—representing the light of hope even in the darkest times. This collaboration highlights how art, combined with educational support, plays a vital role in helping children cope emotionally while also contributing to their physical healing process.
Support in times of crisis
The past two years have been challenging for Israel, with war and uncertainty affecting hospitals nationwide. SASA-Setton has stepped up to support not only the children but also their educators, who face immense pressure. “Our primary focus has been staff resilience,” said Givati.
“Educators are deeply committed, but they also have personal lives. They’re dealing with their own families, their own fears. And yet, they continue showing up every day, providing warmth and consistency to these children.” “Our centers remained open even when schools shut down,” he added. “We understood that for hospitalized children, losing their educational framework would be an additional trauma. They needed us to be there, not just for academics but for their overall sense of security and routine.”
Beyond their regular hospital work, SASA-Setton expanded their efforts to assist communities most affected by war. Following the October 7th attacks, the organization, through its Embrace emergency campaign and with the generous support of the Segal and Rothman families from the United States, as well as Bank Hapoalim, launched large-scale initiatives to rehabilitate 30 kindergartens in southern Israel.
These efforts focus on both the physical reconstruction of learning spaces and the emotional recovery of children and teachers. “If we want to bring families back to the kibbutzim, we need to strengthen the educational framework,” emphasizes Givati. “Education is a cornerstone of rebuilding a community.”
Hospitals are islands of hope—microcosms of Israeli society where people from all walks of life come together, not as strangers but as human beings. Amid the challenges, in hospital corridors and classrooms, we witness Israel at its best: resilient, compassionate, and full of hope. It’s a powerful reminder that even in the toughest times, human connection is what binds us and lights the way forward.
This article was written in collaboration with SASA-Setton.