Matan Allied Health Professionals Program works in partnership with the Sarah Herzog Hospital and Israeli Ministry of Trade, Industry and Labor, to train Ethiopian- Israeli women as licensed practical nurses. The Sarah Herzog Hospital provides medical and practical training. Matan provides Hebrew language classes; workshops in job preparation & interview techniques; alternative therapies (shiatsu massage therapy); classes in Jewish history, culture, and contemporary issues in Judaism. These sessions are crucial to enable a smoother absorption to Israeli society and the Israeli workplace. To ensure success, Matan also gives students in need free housing and transportation. Matan Allied Health Professionals Program offers participants assistance in job placement and where appropriate, help to continue to higher education.

Profiles of Matan Allied Health Professionals Program Graduates:
Yersaw Gondrit and her husband are from Gondar, Ethiopia. Yersaw worked for ten years as a nursery school teacher. The Gondrit family spent a number of years in a transit camp in Addis Ababa, and made Aliyah with their four children. Yersaw found out about the Matan AHP course from the Jerusalem Welfare Office, and welcomed the opportunity to go "back to school" and learn a new profession in a warm, supportive atmosphere and passed her licensing exam. Today, Yersaw is working as an Allied Health Professional, supporting her family with dignity.

Ashgaru-Dorit Sahalo was born in the Sudan on her family's trek across deserts and continents to make Aliyah to Israel. One of our best students, Dorit successfully passed her AHP courses, as well as the licensing exam from the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor. Following the AHP course, Matan assisted Dorit in her studies and she achieved a high score in psychometric exam. She applied and was accepted to the highly-regarded Shaarei Tzedek School of Nursing. One of Dorit's happiest moments was when she found out that she was accepted to Nursing School, knowing that it was a significant turning point in her life.