In pictures: Israeli youth village

About 500 young refugees from at least 20 countries around the world live in the village of Yemin Orde.

Among the children here are two girls from a tiny community which claims Jewish ancestry in Kaifeng in China.

One of the residents, Adam, fled fighting in his village in Darfur. "In my dreams I wanted to be in a place like this. It's changed my life. Now I look to the future," he says.

The children, like this group from Brazil, live together in a series of homes around the village. Boys and girls have separate accommodation.

Resident counsellors in the village to help with any emotional and psychological problems for refugees who have often suffered years of abuse.

The children are given an Israeli education and there are also extra-curricular activities, including sports and a choir.

Many of the children are Jews from Ethiopia. Some built a traditional Ethiopian hut, or gojo, as a memorial to those who never made it.

The centre strives to create a substitute family environment for the children, most of whom have no parents and arrive here alone.

The village carries out regular air raid drills involving all the students and staff.

Thousands of children have passed through the centre since it was founded in 1953 for orphans from the Holocaust and Jewish refugees from Arab states.

Graduates are allowed to stay on, but even those who leave the village often come back to visit. (Pictures by Noam Sharon, atp)

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