Israelis run Summer Camp in Ethiopia

Information Source - Samantha Friedman, Senior Associate, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications

Project T.E.N. (Tikkun Empowerment Network) is a project of  The Jewish Agency for Israel.  It provides young Jewish people in their 20’s and 30’s the opportunity to spend a significant length of time engaging in social activism abroad (e.g. Ethiopia), while simultaneously developing their Jewish identities and connections to one another.

T.E.N. has opened a summer camp for street children in Gondar, Ethiopia. They reached the children through a local NGO, Yenege Tesfa, which means, “hope for tomorrow,” and which seeks to care for Gondar’s children by bringing them a home, a family, an education, good health and a future.

The summer camp, named "Bright Hope Camp", is run by a team of five Israeli T.E.N. volunteers and four other volunteer students from the University of Gondar.  51 children who live in the Yenege Tesfa shelters are attending the camp, where they study English every day and participate in traditional camping activities including sports, arts and crafts, and drama activities. Once a week, the day is dedicated to an important topic such as the environment or good hygiene. The Salam Armachau School, a local Gondar school, hosts the camp.  The camp is the largest in scope that the children of Yenege Tesfa have ever had the chance to experience.

Hibist, Coordinator at Yenege Tesfa, said, “T.E.N. and its volunteers are role models, they bring together everyone in order to solve the problems, they move things that haven’t moved for a long time. The children at Yenege Tesfa were hurt so many times by adults that they no longer trust them. Their connection with the volunteers is crucial.”

Olemiu, Education and Health Coordinator at the Yenege Tesfa Organization said, “I can see the amazing effort that is born of the volunteers’ devotion and determination. Even when some of them feel sick or tired, as they are not used to the conditions here, they get up anew and continue with our project (the summer camp for the Yenege Tesfa orphans) and they help the children increase their self-confidence and think differently about themselves. They are helping the children to become more aware of their importance of school and of how to protect themselves from abuse. It is an honor to work with these volunteers.”

Mtzlal, T.E.N. Project Coordinator at the Gojo Neighborhood, is an Ethiopian herself: “I’m very excited about what T.E.N. is doing in Gondar. We are really turning around things that have stagnated for years. We have dug a drainage canal for the neighborhood (in time for the rainy season). The municipality thought that we’re just another organization that buys some stuff for people and then leaves, but now they understand that we’re really here for the long run. Also the other projects, such as the Mother Teresa Clinic. The next step is to help people learn how to do things for themselves and earn money.”

Sister Luciana from the Mother Teresa Clinic has been in Ethiopia for 25 years: “The T.E.N. volunteers made an impact very quickly – the need was so great – and they are doing a good job. They are very responsible and have a strong will to succeed. They connect with the children and take care of and feed those suffering from various illnesses.”

Future Jewish Leaders Visit Israel

Jewish teens arrive in Israel for three-week leadership exchange program.
by Samantha Friedman, Rabinowitz/Dorf Communications

SAN FRANCISCO – As part of the selective Diller Teen Fellows 15-month international leadership program, delegations of Jewish teens from six North American communities have arrived in Israel for three weeks this summer.  Organized by Diller Teen Initiatives, a program of the Helen Diller Family Foundation, the Diller Teen Fellows program pairs cohorts of incoming high school juniors from North American communities with cohorts of Israeli students their same age.  This year, 120 North American students are in Israel between July 18 and August 8.  Through educational workshops, weekend retreats and the creation and implementation of social service projects in each partner community throughout the year, the Diller Teen Fellows program empowers participants to be engaged, effective leaders with a strong understanding of their Jewish identity and respect for Jewish pluralism and peoplehood.

“These young teens are our future,” said Helen Diller of the Helen Diller Family Foundation.  “We need to invest in them, show them they can lead us, and empower them to help repair the world.  It fills me with pride to know that these teens will unite under the banner of Jewish peoplehood, learning to guide the next generation in meaningful pursuits during this inspiring trip to Israel.” 

“This is not a typical Israel experience,” said Tal Gale, Diller Teen Fellows Co-Director.  “Our teens are emerging leaders in their own communities who are going to Israel not just to explore their roots, but to continue developing real relationships with their Israeli counterparts.  They have the opportunity to have shared experiences and to see first-hand the successes and challenges of diverse Jewish communities.  As a people of a dispersed existence we must ensure that current and future leaders of the Jewish people choose and have the capability to make decisions and effect change in a global context.”

Liat Cohen Raviv, Co-Director of the program, adds, “In the Diller Teen Fellows Program, exploration of Jewish peoplehood is intentional and pervasive.  Through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, peoplehood experiences and personal connection to the Jewish narrative, teens become active leaders within and beyond this experiment in Jewish peoplehood, providing us insight into our collective future, our future identity.”

This year, six Diller Teen Fellows partnerships are participating in the Israel Summer Seminar:

·         San Francisco/Upper Galilee
·         Baltimore/Ashkelon
·         Los Angeles/Tel Aviv
·         MetroWest New Jersey/Rishon LeZion
·         Montreal/Beer Sheva-Bnei Shimon
·         Pittsburgh/Karmiel-Misgav

During their three-week seminar in Israel, 240 North American and Israeli participants from the 12 communities will come together for the Diller Teen Fellows International Congress from July 27-31.  This international seminar, which focuses on the concept of a global Jewish Peoplehood, is largely facilitated by more than 60 North American and Israeli program graduates participating in follow-up programming which provides them with platforms to put their leadership training into action.  The rest of the time, the fellows will engage with the “real” Israel, focusing on both its beauty and blemishes, in Israeli cultural and exchange activities, as well as gather to celebrate Shabbat and other Jewish religious ceremonies, visit historical sites, hike and experience outdoor activities, volunteer through community service activities chosen and created by the teens themselves, and be hosted by their partner communities.

The staff and lay leaders of the North American and Israeli delegations will convene in the fall in San Francisco for the Diller Teen Fellows’ Professionals’ and Lay Leaders’ Conference, a gathering bringing together North American and Israeli program leaders from 18 communities.  Delegates will participate in professional development activities, deepen their cross-cultural partnership, and explore the relationships between Jewish communities in Israel and abroad.  In addition to the 12 communities participating in the Israel Summer Seminar, the following additional partnerships will take part in the fall conference:

·         Boston/Haifa
·         Toronto/Eilat-Eilot
·         New York/Ramat HaSharon

The Diller Teen Fellows program was established in 1997 by San Francisco philanthropist Helen Diller.  More information is available at http://www.jewishfed.org/diller/fellows.