REPRESENTATIVES OF Etgarim — an Israeli nonprofit whose aim is to enable people with special needs to realize their potential — came to North Caldwell Oct. 29 to educate community members about their organization.

Meeting with members of the Israel Committee of Congregation Agudath Israel of West Essex at the North Caldwell home of Scott and Wendy Newman were Etgarim resource development director Orit Shulman, project manager Guy Salomon, and volunteers and clients Ilan Ohayon and Roy Grilack.

The Etgarim (challenges) representatives explained to the gathering of some 20 people that the organization was established in 1995 by a group of Israel Defense Force veterans to develop ways for individuals with special needs to enhance their abilities and integrate within society. Etgarim serves the entire special-needs population of Israel, including those with physical or mental disabilities, impaired sensory functions, developmental disabilities, or autism; conditions affecting clients can be those resulting from illness, accident, terrorism, or war or present from birth.

Etgarim has expertise in 20 different activities, including skydiving, parasailing, scuba diving, kayaking, windsurfing, tandem cycling, rock climbing and rappelling, and skiing. Programs operate throughout Israel and with volunteers and clients of all ages and faiths and from all sectors of society.

The speakers emphasized to the gathering that many soldiers and civilians wounded during the Second Lebanon War in 2006 have posed a tremendous challenge to the organization.

Ohayon, 36, an Etgarim special instructor, told the attendees that he was a reservist in the elite IDF Paratroopers Brigade during the Second Lebanon War. He was trapped in a building in the village of Debel that came under missile attack. He went to the aid of the many soldiers wounded in the attack, continuing even after a missile shattered his left leg. His own rehabilitation continues as he volunteers with Etgarim, which, he said, "also raises awareness, changes in attitudes, and integration into society."

Grilack, who was 21 when he fought in the Battle of Ranjuria in the war, told those assembled that he is a resident of Ra'anana and a graduate of MetroWest High School. He explained that he suffered two bullet wounds in the leg, one in his back, and numerous shrapnel wounds all over his body. After enduring long hospitalization, reconstructive operations, and intensive physiotherapy, he is learning to walk again. This past summer, he began sailing with Etgarim volunteers, many themselves disabled IDF veterans. The experience, he said, has brought "tremendously positive benefits" to his rehabilitation.

Among those attending the event were Agudath Israel immediate past president Michael Simon, program director Randi Brokman, and Israel committee cochairs Lee Gladstein and Harvey Hershkowitz.