Stories and Pathways

My name is Kara Bookbinder and I'm a new intern at ENP. This Monday I went out on my first "mission" with a group of 16 people from the Jewish Federations of North America, on a program called "Mission Possible." Being my first mission, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that we would be going to a Youth Outreach Center in Beit Shemesh, and that we would meet some of the Ethiopian teens who benefit from the center, but that's all I knew. On the hour bus ride to the Center, I learned so many fascinating things about Ethiopian Jews and their struggle to make Aliyah. I had never before heard about Operation Moses or Operation Solomon which evacuated 8,000 and 14,000 Ethiopian Jews, respectively, from Ethiopia to Israel in the 1980's and 1990's. Upon hearing these stories I had a new found appreciation and curiosity about Ethiopian Jewry. Once at the Center, we were broken into three groups, each with some participants and some Ethiopian t

Shalom all beautiful people! It was such a wonderful day here in Israel. I am so excited to be able to share with you all my wonderful (and first) Sigd experience. For those of you who are not too familiar with Sigd, here is a link to their facebook page which gives a great overview http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sigd/138229019535354. However here is a short sweet version of sigd: Sigd is a Festival celebrated every year in honor of the mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem by the Ethiopian Jews. It is celebrated 50 days after Yom Kippur it is an essential part of the Ethiopian culture here Israel. Now, to explain the beauty of it...well there are no words, but I will attempt. I was told that the festival would take place in Tapiyot, exactly the opposite of Mt Scopus (where I currently live). However exactly where in the Tapiyot I was not sure. I was certain to find out through random wondering and silly questioning and so I hopped on the bus and headed in that direction. I got off at

Shalom all beautiful people. My name is Breny Aceituno, I am the newest addition to the Ethiopian National Project and I am thrilled to be part of this project. Though my enthusiasm about interning for such an organization was apparent before, it was not until I had my first encounter with the community that really allowed me to see what a great project this is and how much I will learn from it. I was given  the opportunity to visit the ENP youth Outreach Center in Petach Tikva together with participants on the Jewish Federations of North America "Mission Possible" trip to Israel here and there was no way I was going, and there was no way I was going to pass such an opportunity up, so as soon as I received the most pleasant email of invitation I contained my excitement and got ready for my new adventure. Meeting Grace was my first impression of the whole project and it was a pleasure within itself. But it was while on the road to the outskirts of Jerusalem that I wa

A reminder: I'm Eliana: Dartmouth College Tucker Fellow , Kiryat Malachi Scholastic Assistance Program English teacher, and over-the-top ENP fan. (For real. I really ought to stop rereading their brochures and Five-Year Report in my free time.) And moving on: So far as treats in Israel go, I'm more than satisfied. Even if we were to completely dismiss the relationships I've built or the experiences I've had, I could still get a kick out of just the stuff. I love the rows of gummy bears (/worms/hearts/berries/etc.) that they sell outside the Central Bus Station. And it's absolutely killing me that I have to wait till Rosh Hashana to wear my new dress. And I'm getting good use out of the spool of blue thread I bought partly because I needed it and mostly because the storekeeper complimented my Hebrew. But those gummies are lucky if they live to see morning. And I suppose there's always the slight chance that I'll grow out of that dress somewhere

I’m Eliana and I absolutely love ENP! I’m from Nashville, Tennessee, I go to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, and for two months this summer I’m lucky enough to be a Tucker Fellow volunteering with the Ethiopian National Project. I teach English in Kiryat Malachi (a small town about an hour from Jerusalem), and I get a kick out of it. The girls I teach are 12 and 13 years old, and they’re participants in ENP’s Scholastic Assistance Program. That means that they’re eight of the 3,556 students throughout Israel who have ENP’s direct support in their academic lives. When they get distracted they can count on having an ENP worker on their back; when they want to go the extra mile they can end up with summer school and other supplementary programs. So here I am, with the summer school. Work is a bit of an adventure, just about always. Even on the (comparatively) normal days I get back from Kiryat Malachi in the afternoon and just want to fall asleep on the sidewalk outside the

Shalom everyone… The ENP experiences continue to move this blogger to share. About a week ago (forgive the lapse in time once more, what else can you do when your computer goes up in smoke?), I had my second mission trip with ENP. Another unique experience indeed. At the CC and CD Mission, we had visitors from various federations in the United States come to visit the homes of some of the students that participate in ENP sponsored activities. I will spare you details about how the day was humid and sticky, how great the tuna sandwiches were and how a cat stole one of said tuna sandwiches because, frankly, this was all overshadowed by the success of the visit in which I participated. I was part of one of the sixteen simultaneous home visits that took place that day. The bus took us to Lod, a city located in the heart of Israel, but poor in resources and struggling to stabilize the city's infrastructure. Here, 43.3% percent of residents find themselves earning a minimum salary or

--> Last night, we began our “caravan camp” with a blast, literary, as we launched rockets into the night sky at Ethiopian National Project’s (ENP) Gadera Youth Centre (don’t worry these rockets where of the innocent variety intended only to teach the kids about aerodynamics, friction, gravity etc.) This was the first day of a two week travelling camp where a group of volunteers from all over the world (our group includes volunteers from America, Israel, Australia, South Africa, Poland and Uruguay) will be travelling to ENP’s various Youth Centres to run camp-like activities for the Ethiopian Youth. Our activities include science experiments, animation workshops, teamwork and empowerment exercises, public speaking lessons, yoga and whatever else we come up with along the way. The idea of holding a Summer Camp for Ethiopian youth originated with a group of MA students at Hebrew University’s Rothberg International School. One of the students, an Ethiopian man who lives in

Shalom, my name is Linda Castillo and I am the newest addition to the wonderful ENP blog. I am a study abroad student at Hebrew University 's Rothberg International School from the University of Pennsylvania . I will be starting my fourth, and final, year of college in the fall. I arrived in Israel with the intention of staying for one semester, approximately four months. Faced with the bitter idea that I would have to leave Israel , I decided to extend my stay for one year. I hope to volunteer with ENP for the rest of my stay. It has been a couple of weeks since my first mission with ENP which took place in Beit Shemesh. To most, the idea of a post about an experience that occurred "that long ago" may seem daunting. However, the impression it made is long lived and fresh. It was my first mission, and actually, my first time volunteering with ENP. I had already read the 5 Year Report on ENP's work, browsed through the site and received a general idea of

Wow what a day! It was very exciting to go on The Mission Possible Tucson (Young Women Federation Leadership) mission visit to the Ulpanat Mevasseret School in Hadera this afternoon. Being it was my first week at the ENP as well as my first week in Israel needless to say, I was not totally sure what to expect. It was awesome! When we arrived at the school we were greeted with so much excitement from the staff as well as the girls. I was very impressed with the school. The girls all spoke English very well and it was a breath of fresh air to see kids with a real hunger for learning. The girls were not shy whatsoever, and there was no shortage of questions about life in America, many of them having to do with pop culture. I never thought I could have so much in common with these girls! They were all so intelligent, we talked about everything from music to geography of the US. After talking to the girls I got to hear some of their stories as well as their dreams for the future. They

ENP recently hosted the Flint Jewish Federation Civic Leadership Interfaith Mission at the Gedera Youth Outreach Center (funded by the UJA Federation of New York) and I had an opportunity to participate in this visit. The ENP Mission visits brings groups from Canada, the US, the United Kingdom and abroad to get a first hand look at the work of ENP for the Ethiopian Israeli community. During the visit to the youth center the Flint Interfaith Mission heard from Dr. Negist Mengesha, Director General of ENP and Micha Feldman about the need for youth centers and other social services for Ethiopian Israelis throughout Israel. Micha played a major role in the miraculous rescue of Ethiopian Jews and aliyah to Israel through Operation Moses and Solomon and the group were fascinated by his stories of Ethiopian Jewry's struggles. The group also had the opportunity to learn a traditional Ethiopian dance and meet with the kids from youth center. Many of the Ethiopian teenagers use The Gede

Hey Everyone, It's Diane again reporting live from ENP! Today, I'll be talking about my first time volunteering at the Youth Center in Gedera as well as a "mission" at the Rehovot Youth Center (I will explain "mission" in a bit...). On Tuesday May 11, I made my way from Jerusalem to the city of Gedera to volunteer with the Ethiopian-Israeli youth. It was my first time coming in to volunteer at Gedera and I was pretty excited. All in all, I had a great time at Gedera. When I arrived, I met four soldiers who were also volunteering at the youth center. They introduced themselves to me and gave me a grand tour of the center. There was a room where one soldier was giving math lessons to a group of students. In another room, there were kids watching TV and playing pool. Then, there was the computer room! (my favorite room). This was a popular room for the kids. They were listening to music videos, playing online computer games, and chatting online w

Hi, my name is Diane. I’ve been volunteering for ENP for about 2 months now, but this is my first blog post! I’m currently a junior at the University of Rochester in Rochester , NY . I’m studying abroad at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University for the 2009 – 2010 school year. It’s been an amazing experience so far and I’ve met so many great people. I’ve had such a good time that I extended my study abroad experience from one semester to one year! Recently, I decided to extend my stay to the summer as well in order to study written-Arabic. So, for my first blog post, I will be writing about a recent phone interview I had about an Ethiopian-Israeli student volunteer project in Lod. I interviewed this really nice woman named Billie, who helped coordinate the volunteer project and help the staff and kids work together. The volunteer project took place on March 24, 2010. Ethiopian-Israeli youth from ENP fixed up various Ethiopian commu

Hello, internet! On Tuesday I went to the Moadon No'ar (youth center) in Petach Tikva. Well, to say I "went" might be a little optimistic. Due to some miscommunication, I didn't actually make it there. However, my peregrinations proved productive. (Say that ten times fast!) You learn a lot from wandering about, asking people for directions. Here is what I learned: -The Israeli stereotype is true: though Israelis may seem brusque, they will knock themselves out to make sure you get where you need to be. -Case in point: after an embarrassingly long time spent circling Petach Tikva, I came upon a very sweet couple who took personal offense at the fact that I was lost. They checked their GPS for directions. They called their friends. They Googled. (iPhones are wonderful things--you can surf the Internet from a deserted parking lot!) Finally, when it became clear I wasn't going to find this center, they checked bus times back to Jerusalem and drove me to the near

What's up, Internet! Adi again, reporting back from the trenches of the Beit Shemesh Youth Center. The center was relatively quiet this Tuesday; half the kids who usually come were on a school trip, and a significant minority were at a town-wide cultural event called "the shuuk," which to me sounded more like a street fair than an open-air market. Hailu, the center's director, explained that students go to the shuuk both to hang out and to help their parents, many of whom man stalls or booths. There were two girls at the center this week, one of whom (let's call her "Devorah") solicited my help with her English homework. She didn't have any of her school things with her, but promised to bring a week's worth of homework next Tuesday; I'm excited for our study date. I think I will call Hailu on Monday and ask him to remind her--I actually miss English homework! I had a tiny mission to carry out on Tuesday, which totally failed. An extreme

Hello, Internet! I’m Adi, a new ENP volunteer who will be blogging about my time in the Beit Shemesh youth center once weekly. I recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland—in fact, Baltimore is both my inspiration for volunteering with ENP, and my paradigm for what it means to work with an underserved community. Three and a half years living in Charles Village—located a hop, skip, and a jump away from urban neighborhoods that inspired the emotionally gripping and highly disturbing HBO cult hit, The Wire—impelled me to seek out a similar experience for my five months in Israel. I’ve been teaching English and Language Arts to Baltimore City Public School kids since my sophomore year, and firmly believe that English literacy is one of the most important tools for/indicators of future academic and professional success, in any country. Hence: armed with goodwill, some teaching experience, and…well, little else but jumpy nerves, I venture to the Bet Shemesh