Breaking the Ice with Salsa

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By: Maya Katz-Ali 
ENP Volunteer
Boston Onward Israel
Student at Clark University

A couple of days ago I started work at the Ethiopian National Project (ENP) branch in Kiriyat Bialik, right outside of Haifa. Here I am learning the stories of the children and their families. I am particularly interested in learning and documenting the stories of young people as they strive to overcome the obstacles they find in becoming a part of Israeli culture.
I have studied Hebrew for four years in high school as well as a semester at Clark University. I have also spent considerable time in Israel, volunteering at inner city schools and touring the country. I wanted to take my learning experiences a step further with ENP by working with the stories of the students. I hope to learn more of the Ethiopian community’s struggles, fears and triumphs by working in this center.  On the way to the center I met up with another wonderful young woman working at the center under a different program.  Her name is Lisa and she helped to prepare me for the new adventure I was about to begin. 
                Meeting the kids and staff soon after meeting Lisa was wonderful; they were all so sweet and friendly. They welcomed me right into their family. The first day the girls in the program asked Lisa and I to teach them salsa. We took the girls to a cool room, put on music and taught the girls the basic steps of salsa. They were so eager to learn! We worked around the language difficulties and broke the ice with the common language of laughter, music and dancing. 

                Both the girls and the boys of the center are so light-hearted and have so much to share with anyone who asks and seems interested. Each student of the center has a unique story that I cannot wait to learn more about!

ENP's programs in Kiryat Bialik are generously supported by the Jewish Federation of Greater South Palm Beach County

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