Monkey business

(Above) Jenx Monkey Stander: From
an online catalogue

One of the most popular pieces of equipment at Keren Malki's Equipment Lending Unit at Yad Sarah is the Jenx Monkey Stander. This is a deceptively simple-looking device that does a great job of enabling a child who cannot otherwise support his/her own weight to be upright.

For many children with special needs, being upright is no small thing. It can be critically important to helping build muscle and increase blood flow, both very important for the child’s development. The Monkey Stander is suitable for children aged between 9 months and 4 years.

Since the stander is made of wood, and all the supports are upholstered, meaning that even with regular wear and tear the standers are returned with torn material, bolts missing and so on, ongoing maintenance is a key part of the burden of ownership. Naturally, all equipment returned from loan goes through the expert hands of the men in Yad Sarah’s workshop.

But with this particular piece of equipment, they have long been left stumped. Over the last few months, a pile of unloanable standers - returned from being loaned out and in need of restorative maintenance and repair - has been growing in the corner of the workshop.

Fortunately, Yisrael Arend, Keren Malki's intrepid, full-time coordinator at our joint venture with Yad Sarah, is not one to give up easily.

Rehabilitated Monkey Standers at our
Jerusalem workshop: Just add children

Knowing that there had to be a solution for the standers, and thinking of the children who benefit from this essential piece of equipment, Yisrael went looking for a creative approach. The solution he arrived at came in the form of two dedicated volunteers – David Krissman and Arye Stolar, both retired ‘olim’ (immigrants) from the United States.

Twice a week, David and Arye arrive equipped with their own tools, their woodworking skills and much dedication to work on the Monkey Standers at a workbench set up specifically for them in the Yad Sarah workshop in Jerusalem. Since being assigned their mission by Yisrael, they have completely repaired eight Monkey Standers; all now look as good as new.

Men at work: On the right - David Krissman and Arye Stolar

Eight very happy children and their families have recently gotten a Monkey Stander delivered to their homes, courtesy of the Malki Foundation, our joint venture with Yad Sarah and two proud and energetic woodwork-savvy men with hearts of gold.

David and Arye are continuing their blessed work, and will have the next batch ready to go out to additional children in the coming weeks.

Debbie Fishman
Executive Director - Malki Foundation, Jerusalem