The Megemeria School for Jewelry Making provides a holistic response to the complex set of obstacles preventing Ethiopian immigrants from integrating into Israeli society and its workforce. Students acquire a rewarding profession and are offered employment upon graduation. In addition to learning the art and business of jewelry making, students study Hebrew, Israeli culture, history and geogrpahy, and budget management. These tools enable students to become self-sufficient, engaged citizens.
In addition to typical difficulties associated with immigration, Ethiopian immigrants to Israel face substantial cultural gaps that make finding viable employment exceedingly difficult. For example, the educational background of Ethiopian immigrants is generally insufficient for entry into professional training programs and leaves only the lowest paying and most dead-end jobs as possibilities for employment. Consequently, this population is characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty
This program provides culturally specific services that enable Ethiopian immigrants to acquire the professional, linguistic and cultural skills to pursue meaningful and viable employment. The Megemeria School for Jewelry Making program teaches Ethiopian immigrants a trade, awards graduates a professional diploma, and offers employment opportunities upon course completion. The course includes budget management and financial literacy training to further help participants escape and prevent poverty
The Megemeria School impacts its direct beneficiaries and their families by helping participants intergate into employment and thus into Israeli society. The school and its social business offshoot for marketing the students' jewelry (also called Megemeria) stand as a working model of employment training and employment generation. This model can be replicated across the country, in different fields and with different populations, for the benefit of participating individuals and society at large.
