Approximately 1,450 asylum seekers from Africa take refuge in Israel's Ktziot Prison for 6-7 months on average.

KTZIOT PRISON, Israel - As Sima tucks tile mosaics under one arm, she returns children’s hugs with her other arm. These loving embraces are the only common language they have.

Sima communicates “in a little Hebrew, a little English, a little Arabic and lots of body language,” she says with a laugh.

The art teacher obviously cares about her students, the children housed at Ktziot Prison. For many of these kids, their sense of security at school is new. In art class, they often draw people shooting guns and being shot, violent remnants of their lives left behind in Africa.

Twenty-seven nations are represented in her classroom, a reflection of the diverse Africans seeking refuge here in southern Israel. Approximately 1,450 asylum seekers wait patiently in this over-crowded, maximum-security prison for 6-7 months on average.

“In far from ideal conditions, the staff is doing its best to make life better for these [people] who are so desperately seeking a better and safer life for themselves and their children,” said Charmaine Hedding, a representative for Operation Blessing Israel.

African refugees unload much-needed supplies, including clothing, shoes, and classroom materials such as books, writing instruments and art supplies.

But with 80-100 new residents arriving daily, the staff is busy.

Operation Blessing recently teamed up with the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and several churches to provide much-needed supplies for the refugees.

Vans brought donated whiteboards for classrooms, clothing and shoes. Boxes of books in Amharic, Arabic, English, French and Hebrew arrived to start a library.

The children in Sima’s art classes will enjoy backpacks stuffed with toiletries, toys, art supplies and writing instruments.

An Israeli immigration lawyer at Ktziot thanked Operation Blessing and its partners earnestly for the contributions, saying they are truly needed.

“Authorities want to provide for the asylum seekers’ needs, but can’t do it all in real time,” he said.

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