Assist Ethiopian Jews Bridge Socio-Economic Gaps

Empowering Meetings:

As in the previous quarter, we have continued to conduct empowerment workshops set up by the Educationcoordinators  in accordance with a yearly structured program on themes of morality which are highly significant. Following is a description of some of the activities that are held at the center:

An empowerment meeting on the subject of success and coping with failure:

In this meeting, the co-ordinator and pupils of NesZiona focused on the sensations and feelings experienced during stressful final end-of-year examinations. A discussion arose concerning how stress influences us and whether we make decisions hastily which are proven to lead to a lack of success. The pupils shared their experiences and spoke about the improvements that they think they should make. The activities were composed of simulations of breaks and states of calm.

An empathy workshop and Israeli society:

 In this quarter, the education co-ordinator brought a workshop over to the Jaffa Group on the subject of empathy and Israeli society. In order to know where they had to go, the students first had to know where they came from. Therefore, in the first meetings, the co-ordinator focused on the place where they came from: Ethiopia. He focused on memories, customs, traditions, culture and more. In the following workshops, the co-ordinator focused the workshop on the surroundings and the inhabitants of the different sectors of society in Israel through examining the societal make-up and the ranges of ethnicities, cultures and customs and how they relate to the existing stereotypes with regards to the different inhabitants in Israel. In the last part of the workshop, the coordinator focused the activities on empathizing with each student for the purpose of developing self-awareness, nurturing formulated ambitions and helping them build a stable identity which is strong and solid. The co-ordinator used a range of different educational methodologies in order to bring across the themes and significantly, the pupils really enjoyed the kind of meetings through exceptional co-operation with the co-ordinator.   

Empowering Meetings Conducted by the coordinator:

As in the previous quarter, we have continued to conduct empowerment workshops set up by the Education Co-ordinators in accordance with a yearly structured program on themes of morality which are highly significant. Following is a description of some of the activities that are held at the centre.

A Summer Preparation Workshop:

Just before the students went off on their summer break, the pupils from the Gedera Group were brought to a lecture in which guest speakers Ya’araAmer and Guy Cohen took part. The lecture was composed of co-ordinators from different youth movements concerned with working and studying. In the confines of the lecture, certain essential values of the pupils were reinforced, such as those concerning dangerous elements in the summer, making use of their own judgment, responsible and educated behaviour and so forth. Furthermore, the pupils were exposed to the rights and obligations of working teenagers. The pupils expanded their knowledge on the subject of summer employment. They were spoken to about their obligations at work and moreover, how to prevent being taken advantage of by their employers as well as  how to examine a payslip. Concerning payslips, they learned what actions are important, such as documenting working hours, calculating additional hours, the black market and so forth. The information was explained clearly and it was structured in a very detailed way. The pupils participated and asked many questions that remained open. In conclusion, one pupil remarked, “it’s important and necessary that many teenagers will learn from this”.  

Parents Workshops in co-operation with the Organization “Tene Health”:

Throughout the quarter, lectures were set up for the parents of the pupils in Jaffa under a co-operative framework with the organization “Tene Health” which provides lectures in different languages to members of the Ethiopian Community of the same age group on the subject of health. In these lectures, the parents learned about the educated use of health services and about early diagnoses for common diseases such as diabetes. Among the Ethiopian community, as in the rest of society, there is a high incidence of the disease. The biggest difficulty concerning the Ethiopian Community is the lack of awareness of the disease. The lecture moderator, a Doctor by profession and one of the community members, explained the disease to the participants; its symptoms, the reasons for its development, and she shared with the parents in different ways in which to cope with the disease. The parents responded with great interest and were immersed in the subject matter. The parents learned about the educated and correct use of health services, about medical rights, obligations, an encouragement to get additional opinions and methods to cope with different situations. Additionally, the parents learned about different diseases although diabetes in particular was presented in a concrete and clear fashion. They learned: how Diabetes arises, what it can lead to, and how you can cope with it. The parents, who very much enjoyed the lecture and learned a lot thanks to the friendly lecturer who conducted the lectures in Amharic, demanded that additional and consistent meetings of this kind take place. They attested that they were very happy that they had come to the meetings and that for them, they were sources of knowledge and learning. 

roughout the quarter, lectures were set up for the parents of the pupils in Jaffa under a co-operative framework with the organization “Tene Health” which provides lectures in different languages to members of the Ethiopian Community of the same age group on the subject of health. In these lectures, the parents learned about the educated use of health services and about early diagnoses for common diseases such as diabetes. Among the Ethiopian community, as in the rest of society, there is a high incidence of the disease. The biggest difficulty concerning the Ethiopian Community is the lack of awareness of the disease. The lecture moderator, a Doctor by profession and one of the community members, explained the disease to the participants; its symptoms, the reasons for its development, and she shared with the parents in different ways in which to cope with the disease. The parents responded with great interest and were immersed in the subject matter. The parents learned about the educated and correct use of health services, about medical rights, obligations, an encouragement to get additional opinions and methods to cope with different situations. Additionally, the parents learned about different diseases although diabetes in particular was presented in a concrete and clear fashion. They learned: how Diabetes arises, what it can lead to, and how you can cope with it. The parents, who very much enjoyed the lecture and learned a lot thanks to the friendly lecturer who conducted the lectures in Amharic, demanded that additional and consistent meetings of this kind take place. They attested that they were very happy that they had come to the meetings and that for them, they were sources of knowledge and learning. 

Throughout the quarter, lectures were set up for the parents of the pupils in Jaffa under a co-operative framework with the organization “Tene Health” which provides lectures in different languages to members of the Ethiopian Community of the same age group on the subject of health. In these lectures, the parents learned about the educated use of health services and about early diagnoses for common diseases such as diabetes. Among the Ethiopian community, as in the rest of society, there is a high incidence of the disease. The biggest difficulty concerning the Ethiopian Community is the lack of awareness of the disease. The lecture moderator, a Doctor by profession and one of the community members, explained the disease to the participants; its symptoms, the reasons for its development, and she shared with the parents in different ways in which to cope with the disease. The parents responded with great interest and were immersed in the subject matter. The parents learned about the educated and correct use of health services, about medical rights, obligations, an encouragement to get additional opinions and methods to cope with different situations. Additionally, the parents learned about different diseases although diabetes in particular was presented in a concrete and clear fashion. They learned: how Diabetes arises, what it can lead to, and how you can cope with it. The parents, who very much enjoyed the lecture and learned a lot thanks to the friendly lecturer who conducted the lectures in Amharic, demanded that additional and consistent meetings of this kind take place. They attested that they were very happy that they had come to the meetings and that for them, they were sources of knowledge and learning. 

Parents Workshops in co-operation with the Organization “Tene Health”:

Throughout the quarter, lectures were set up for the parents of the pupils in Jaffa under a co-operative framework with the organization “Tene Health” which provides lectures in different languages to members of the Ethiopian Community of the same age group on the subject of health. In these lectures, the parents learned about the educated use of health services and about early diagnoses for common diseases such as diabetes. Among the Ethiopian community, as in the rest of society, there is a high incidence of the disease. The biggest difficulty concerning the Ethiopian Community is the lack of awareness of the disease. The lecture moderator, a Doctor by profession and one of the community members, explained the disease to the participants; its symptoms, the reasons for its development, and she shared with the parents in different ways in which to cope with the disease. The parents responded with great interest and were immersed in the subject matter. The parents learned about the educated and correct use of health services, about medical rights, obligations, an encouragement to get additional opinions and methods to cope with different situations. Additionally, the parents learned about different diseases although diabetes in particular was presented in a concrete and clear fashion. They learned: how Diabetes arises, what it can lead to, and how you can cope with it. The parents, who very much enjoyed the lecture and learned a lot thanks to the friendly lecturer who conducted the lectures in Amharic, demanded that additional and consistent meetings of this kind take place. They attested that they were very happy that they had come to the meetings and that for them, they were sources of knowledge and learning.

parents of one of the pupils, “We would very much like to have additional lectures of this kind, the lecture was very interesting and important. I would like to thank you and well done to you for sharing this information with us.”

Educational Training and Mentoring in co-operation companies:

Through a shared feeling of wanting to make a true difference, the companies Elop and Samsung Israel opened their doors to the pupils of the  Ariela Foundation and supplied, in this quarter as well as in others, volunteers who work in the companies. These volunteers provided them with educational training and meaningful one-on-one mentoring 

Educational Training and Mentoring in co-operation with the Company Elop:

In this quarter as in others and under a co-operative framework with the company Elop, the pupils were the recipients of tutoring in math, English as well as other school subjects in accordance with the specific needs of each pupil. This scholarly assistance included exam prep, catch-up courses, exercises, thorough revision over the material that had been studied in school and so forth. In this half-year period, the pupils displayed an improvement in their studying in math and English. It is clear that perseverance during tutoring hours and a relationship with the mentors is significant and influences their studies. One student in particular improved his mark in English from 76 to 90 and in math from 70 to 80. One pupil improved her mark in her 4-unit math matriculation by 15 points. Another pupil improved her mark in her 4-unit English matriculation from 75 to 92.

A goodbye party and summing up the year. In honour of the year’s end, an end-of-year ceremony was organized at the offices of the company with the students, volunteers and the rest of the team in attendance. To begin, Shimon, the Manager, said a few words in thanks to the pupils and the volunteers. Eli also spoke and exclaimed just how much fun it was to work with the pupils and how eager he was to work with them. The students prepared a number of tributes in thanks and appreciation to the team. The first of such tributes was a speech from one of the pupils about working with Eli, her accomplishments and the contribution that was provided to her. She noted that he helped her in math and understood her from her point of view, while challenging her at the same time. Afterwards, another pupil gave a speech in thanks on behalf of all the students. The pupils even distributed to each mentor a modest gift with a personal card. The volunteers were so excited to receive the tribute and also gave them a modest gift as a souvenir. Additionally, everybody enjoyed a fun game of bowling together and ate pizza.

Educational Training and Mentoring in co-operation with the Company Samsung:

Educational training and one-on-one mentoring meetings in the offices of Samsung with volunteers from the company. A unique and fruitful cooperation between the Ariela Foundation and the company Samsung reached its peak this quarter, during which the pupils presented their substantial accomplishments in various school subjects as well as in feedback that they gave following their work with the mentors. For instance, one pupil got a mark of 100 on a complicated math test. She attributes her success mainly to her tutor at Samsung, who went over the material with her in a comprehensive manner and who developed a strong relationship with her. Furthermore, another student attests that the mentorship she received at Samsung can be used for her as a security network that she will always be able to make use of with a mentor with whom she has a good relationship. Just before the end of the activities for this year and in light of the matriculation period that the students must undergo, a study-intense day was created in which the pupils came to receive educational assistance for a number of hours and additional days in which several pupils would come independently and of their own free will to receive additional assistance after co-ordinating in advance with the team.

Links:

• Ariela web site
• The Star Program