5, 4, 3, 2 1- LIFT OFF!

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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 an Ethiopian Absorption centre recognised the need over the long summer months to put together activities for the teenagers who had little to do and where getting themselves into trouble out of sheer boredom. Based on his experience in running a camp last year they decided this year to put together a full three week summer camp for these youth. Unfortunately, a bunch of bureaucratic and political obstacles meant that this was not to be and so at the 11^th hour we contacted Grace Rodnitzki from the ENP who graciously accepted our volunteers. Since ENP no longer has a youth centre in Jerusalem (this was closed recently due to lack of funding) we altered our plan and instead of working daily with the same kids, a new idea was born our travelling or “caravan camp.”

If yesterday was anything to go by the next two weeks are going to be a lot of fun. Sunday night in the Gadera Centre is a "לילה לבן , “a white night” the Israeli way of saying an “all night stay awake” where activities begin at 7:30pm and go on until 2 in the morning. Not surprisingly, the one staff member Mentamer and Israeli soldiers who work there were very excited to have us entertaining the kids, at least for the first few hours. After playing some name games and having the kids guess where we were all from (the fact that I’m the whitest person in the room and am also from Africa usually causes quite a reaction) we began with the rocket making. The kids were explained a little bit about the aerodynamics of the rockets and then set to work building their own rockets out of plastic bottles and cardboards which we then launched into the air with a home-made rocket launcher made from PVC pipes, cable ties and a bicycle pump.

However it was not only the kids that learned new things in the rocket making process, we were able to practise (and be corrected on) our Hebrew which also proved highly entertaining, especially after I walked around the area handing out scissors “"מספריים shouting “מי רוצה משקפיים” “Who needs glasses” and then when I saw the kids laughing, correcting myself to “מי רוצה מכנסיים” “who needs pants”- Eventually finding the correct word, I guess the evening was a learning experience for us all and I am confident I will NEVER forget the word for scissors ever again!

ENP’s Youth Outreach Center in Gedera is supported by UJA-Federation of New York