50 Years Akim Assoc. For Rehabilitation Mentally Handicapped Stamp

The stamp, issued December 2001, depicts a handicapped person outside an Akim hostel, in front of a canvas mounted on a frame showing a creation in red and blue colours. The designer is Yaffa Dahan, born in 1964, a mentally handicapped person. She has been living in the Akim hostel in Zefat for some 11 years. Her paintings feature in all catalogues of Akim exhibitions held in Israel and abroad. Akim, acronym for “National Association for the Rehabilitation of Mentally Handicapped,” founded in 1951 by a group of parents, today encompasses hundreds of experts, and dedicated professional workers and volunteers, nationwide and is the largest provider of programs and services for those needing care. It’s headquarters are in Tel Aviv and has an extensive network of 56 branches that extend from Kiryat Shmona in the north to Eilat in the south. Those in their care are encouraged to engage in study, education suitable to individual capablility, and to live a normal life involving accommodation, employment and leisure. The stamp with an information sheet are enclosed in a plastic protection sheet