ENP Volunteer Reflects on Winter Break at Heftziba Community Center

For my Winter break from Binghamton University, I decided to do something a little bit different than the average Spring break in Mexico or the Bahamas. I came to the beautiful land of Israel. As this season turned out to produce one of the biggest snowstorms Israel has seen in twenty years, I was most definitely not soaking up the sun on a warm beachfront. However, I was still enjoying myself experiencing my first snowfall in Jerusalem while interning with the Ethiopian National Project.

I spent my time volunteering at the Heftziba Community Center in Netanya, which was created by ENP as a Youth Outreach Center in a caravan on the grounds of an elementary school. The highly successful ENP Youth Outreach Center was later transformed into what it is today—a full fledged Community Center with an after school program including learning English, homework help, Tsofim (Scouts) youth group planned activities, and an authentic Ethiopian dance class. There are a plethora of daily options for the kids, from playing sports on the outdoor basketball court, and I was lucky enough to participate in many of the activities throughout my time interning at the center.

During my arrival to the Heftziba Community Center, I was met by Avi Talala, the coordinator of the community center. I toured the building, which looked newly remodeled with offices, classrooms, and an Ethiopian heritage room, where there was clothing hung in an open closet, artifacts, musical instruments, and art and photos displayed on the walls of places in Ethiopia. It was wonderful to see a room like this, acting as a miniature museum for the kids to be able to experience their culture and continue their traditions after moving from Ethiopia to Israel.

The first day working at the center I tutored first graders in English and math. They were studying the English alphabet by learning English names and turning them into Hebrew, and then doing crossword puzzles to search for the names. This way the teacher knew the letters were understood. The children were definitely eager for my help, which I gladly gave, and as we continued in the class many students seemed to gain a deeper understanding and could answer questions I would ask about the work. Despite my being a writer and an English major, I could complete elementary math quite well even in Hebrew. It was a fulfilling first day, where not only the students I was tutoring learned, but I learned about them as well.

The first to third graders were fascinated that I was from the United States, asking me numerous questions about where I lived, if I went to school, where I was originally from, and to my surprise even if I was married. The girls loved to play with my blonde brown long straight hair, as five of them surrounded me starting to braid it simultaneously. When I returned the next day I was immediately greeted by one of the girls I previously tutored, who ran up and gave me a hug. I asked if she was attending the dance class and she replied yes, so we walked hand in hand to the building where the class was being held.

The dance teacher is a very friendly 27-year-old woman named Almaz, who came to Israel from Ethiopia at age four. When she made Aliyah Almaz, which means ‘rough diamond’, was renamed Ilana to be more a part of Israeli society. However, when she got older she decided to go by her original Ethiopian name, Almaz. She is originally from Gamogofa in southern Ethiopia, where there were just forty Jewish families. At age 22, she returned and visited Ethiopia for a month, there she realized just how proud she was to be a Jew. People would ask her, “Are you Jewish?" just by looking at her, and she knew many people did not like Jews there. She used to ask herself “Why am I different, why me?” After revisiting Ethiopia she understood how important her Ethiopian Jewish heritage was and that Israel is her home and a place where she can also continue to pass on that cultural heritage. The children whose families came from Ethiopia forty years ago on Operation Moses or the children who are first generation Israeli now have the chance to learn their culture and be proud of their heritage, whether they were able to experience it themselves in Ethiopia or not. Almaz is a remarkable role model to these young girls. When there was not enough funding to form a dance class at one school, she opened it up at her house and would have girls knocking at her door wanting to continue to learn.

Almaz has been a dancer for twelve years, dancing professionally in companies as well. No one in her family dances and she never took a dance classes as a young girl, but she picked it up, feeling it in her mind and heart. At the same time she was studying law in Tel Aviv she was learning to dance. Her dream for dancing is to perform in the United States.

In many of the after school programs the children can be rowdy, as any young kids are at that age. But as soon as Almaz turns the music on all of the girls gather in straight lines and begin to dance. Each and every one of the girls, whether they were first graders or in junior high school knew the dances by heart and even had solos. It was a unique and very entertaining experience for me to be a part of, as well as thoroughly enjoyable.

By interning for the Ethiopian National Project I was able to pursue my interest in the Ethiopian culture that I have had from a young age. For my bat mitzvah almost ten years ago I visited Ethiopian families in Netanya, and my tzedkah project was donating school supplies to the children. I now feel like I have made a true impact by also physically sitting with the children and tutoring them in English. It has come full circle, but that circle is most definitely not fully closed yet, as I hope to continue this work and be a part of experiences such as these in college and post graduation.

As I return to my University campus everyone will ask each other how their vacations went. Many of my friends will be tan from hot beach weather for the past month. I will know that I did something that I will be able to take with me as a learning experience lasting much longer than any tan ever would. 

Thanks ENP volunteer Michal Goldstein for the time she spent with us and for writing this thoughtful reflection.