Stories and Pathways

I do not look Israeli. When I walk into a room, people see a young, white, westernized female. They probably assume that I am not Jewish and do not speak Hebrew. As a psychology major, I cannot help but take notice of human behavior and expression during cross-cultural interactions. This is what it feels like to be different, to stand out. I become anxious at the possibility of appearing culturally incompetent; I want to seem capable of belonging . I am volunteering at ENP because I believe in empowerment and equal opportunity. Every member of the Ethiopian-Israeli community should feel as though he/she has the potential to succeed academically, economically, socially and become integrated members of Israeli society. As a spring intern, I have the privilege of being a part of this process by working with the children at the youth outreach center in Beit Shemesh each week. Last week was my first visit to the youth outreach center. I met the children for the first time and real

Written by: Leoni Groot I start to get more and more familiar with the kids in the youth center. It’s so great to see them being happy with other volunteers, professionals, each other and me. It really creates a warm atmosphere. This became especially clear during Purim, the crazy holiday where people are happy and dressed in costume. There was a girl that wore typical Ethiopian clothes: a white dress with colors. She won the costume competition. I was dressed as a zebra (see picture) Another volunteer, called Moran, organized the Purim party. She made such a great job! There were many games kids from the youth center as well as kids from the neighborhood that I had never seen before. They played games that were guided by some youths of this outreach center. I was amazed by how they took responsibility over these games. There was enough food for anyone. If one didn’t feel like playing games anymore, he or she could dance to the music that was played by a DJ.

Written by: Leoni Groot Jerusalem Providing my help to an organization that makes a difference in the world: this was my idea before I left the Netherlands… I sent ENP an email that I would like to volunteer to get more practical experience, and help them to empower the Ethiopian community. Not long after this, I got such an enthusiastic email back that made me feel welcome immediately. This didn’t change after my first entrance in the youth center in Petach Tikva and the office in Jerusalem. The warm feeling other volunteers, professionals and especially the youth gave and still give me is wonderful! The idea to volunteer came up few months before finishing my BA of Cultural Anthropology in Utrecht, the Netherlands. I felt I needed to do something else before commencing my Master’s program: Learn something new? Volunteer? Travel? Why not a combination?! Last year I visited Israel for almost three months to conduct a research st