Mavar

Who we are

Founded in 2014, we are a still relatively small charity, with less than £100k in annual income. The day-to-day operations of Mavar are conducted by staff and volunteers under the leadership of our CEO and with the oversight of the Trustee Board.

Mavar is not associated with any faith-based community or organisation. Operating across the UK, our service is confidential, impartial and free. Mavar neither advocates leaving nor remaining - we assist without judgment. 

Mavar offers one-on-one mentoring services, guidance and signposting in the areas of:

• Education
• Counselling and Mental Health
• Legal Rights, Housing and Welfare Provision
• Social and Personal Support
• Accommodation
• Financial Management
• Employment

Our culture and values

Founded on the belief that everyone has the right to choose their own path in life, Mavar’s central mission is to empower individuals who choose to explore opportunities beyond the strictly orthodox community to fulfil personal goals. Mavar supports our members’ efforts to achieve independence, live authentically and cope with the obstacles they may encounter as they explore options to live, work or study in the secular world – whether or not they choose to leave the Charedi community.

Some men and women who have grown up in the closed world of the Charedi community hold personal and religious values that are not in line with the rest of the community. Attempts to follow their own path often bring them into direct confrontation with family, friends and neighbours who regard expressions of individualism or self-determination as heresy.

• These individuals fear that the community will ostracise them, leaving them feeling trapped, isolated and helpless.
• Some may simply wish to explore options for obtaining a general education or improving their access to employment opportunities whilst wishing to remain within the Charedi community; others may look to leave the confinement of strict orthodoxy and to lead a more mainstream lifestyle.
• They all typically lack the everyday life skills to cope with the challenges of the secular world, which appears to them as a confusing, frightening and alien planet.
• Any effort to integrate with the outside, secular world is hampered by limited English language skills, cultural disorientation, lack of basic education or job qualifications and negligible skills for employment.

When a new member comes to us for help, it is highly likely that they do not have any foundational or basic education. Some may have one or two GSCEs, but most have none. It is also highly likely that they speak very little or broken English – if they do, it will be their second or third language.

New members come to us with very few skills that allow them to function in the secular world – lack of time keeping, budgeting and prioritisation skills as well as unfamiliarity with societal norms are basic obstacles for them to creating a life of their choosing. Members need to learn all this, and quickly.

The strictly orthodox population in the UK is estimated at ca. 76,000 (Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR), 2022). With a high birth rate, it is the fastest growing and the youngest of any Jewish denomination: 56% of strictly orthodox Jews in the UK are under 40 and the annual leaving rate from this group is 11% (JPR, 2024). There is huge demand for Mavar's services.