Kfar Yeladim, Heritage orphanage site in Afula, Israel.
Kfar Yeladim was an educational institution on the 950-dunam Balfouria farm on Givat HaMoreh, now within Afula near the Emek Medical Center. Its centerpiece is a two-story stone building, one of the main structures, currently fenced off and in need of restoration.
Kfar Yeladim operated from 1923 to 1931 on the Balfouria farm, founded in 1919 for Balfouria's settlers; after the moshav was established in 1922 the farm was dissolved. In late 1923 the land was leased to the South African orphans' committee, and in February 1924 a pioneer group arrived to prepare the site. It housed Jewish orphans from Eastern Europe, mainly survivors of the Petliura pogroms in Ukraine, brought by Israel Belkind. The institution closed in 1931, near the death of its director Shneur Zalman Pugachev.
The institution's name was explained at its founding by four continents: Asia gave the land, America paid for it, Africa erected the buildings and Europe supplied the orphans. The South African orphans' committee leased the site, and the Hebrew educator Shneur Zalman Pugachev directed it from 1924 for nearly seven years; his son, the musician Emanuel Amiran, taught music there.
The compound is currently fenced and locked, so access is not possible without prior coordination with the Afula municipality or the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites. From outside, the two-storey stone building, one of the site's main structures, can still be seen; it is in a state requiring restoration. The site lies on Givat HaMoreh, next to the Emek Medical Center.
The institution's founding was described as involving four continents: Asia gave the land, America paid for it, Africa erected the buildings, and Europe supplied the orphans. The 950 dunams were bought by the Jewish National Fund, with 500 leased to the American Zionist community for the Balfuria farm.
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