The volunteers

Before I continue with this blog, I feel it is necessary to discuss the typical workday of the volunteers on my trip. It is important for all those reading this to realize the number of hours the volunteers are putting in on the trip and to appreciate their sacrifice. My trip consists of seven university students between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three. The students are divided into two groups. The first group works in the day camp in Kiryat Moshe. Ronit Gordon, Anna Neuman, and Keren Rosenthal start their day at 6:30am, when I wake them up to the sweet sound of me knocking on their doors. In order to arrive at camp for 8:00, they need to be at the bus stop for 7:30am to catch the often-unreliable number 16 bus. A bus which very often seems to follow the schedule of the driver, rather than that of the bus company. At camp the girls help the kids of grades 1-3 through a strenuous day of computer use, physical activity, and educational class time. During class the girls act as role models for the kids, engaging in arts and crafts projects for the children as well as giving the children English vocabulary lessons. The girls creativity shines through in their lessons as can be seen very clearly when Keren and Ronit created colorful pictures describing English words, with their Hebrew translations. Camp ends at 1 and the girls have a 3-4 hour break before they return to Kiryat Moshe to take part in ‘chugim’, night activities in which they take part until 7pm. The purpose of these programs is to keep kids off the streets at night as well as engaging them in fun, stimulating activities such as Capoeria, Belly Dancing, Soccer, Basketball, Ninjitsu, Salsa Dancing, and arts and crafts. Every Tuesday and Thursday we have an ulpan which runs from 4-6. Sunday nights involve a group meeting where we discuss the past week, housekeeping, and different subjects relating to leadership, fundraising, and the politics and history of the land of Israel.

The second group of students works with a group called ‘Chetz Kadima’ which is a group for at risk youth between the ages of 8-14. These children have various behavioral problems, and struggle in school during the year and would otherwise spend their days on the street. Isaac Anidjar, Ilan Manoim, and Orna Marron start their day at 10am and work with these often tough to handle young adults until 4. They spend time talking to and ‘hanging out’ with the students, giving advice, being role models and friends, and teaching them math and English in order to prepare them for the upcoming school year. In the afternoon the students choose articles about Israel and the international affairs to read and discuss. The three of them then run fun and creative computer classes educating these youth in word processing and other useful computing tools. After a long and strenuous day, they head off to their respective chugim. They attend Ulpan on Tuesdays and Thursday and group meetings on Sunday nights.

The one thing which has been so inspiring for me in addition to the hope in the eyes of the children of Kiryat Moshe and the help of donors from Toronto has been the commitment, sacrifice, and creativity of the volunteers on my trip. Each one brings their own specific strengths to the community which are then translated into programs intended to stimulate, inspire, and educate the children with whom they work. These volunteers are not being paid, and very often are not thanked by the camp staff at the end of the day. These volunteers are driven by a desire to attain the Jewish value of ‘Tikkun Olam’, fixing the world, and make an impact on the children. I still think back to the first day of the trip when all eight of us walked into a completely different culture for our first day of work, not knowing what to expect. In the short three weeks that have passed, through their initiative and creativity, the group is starting to develop close and long lasting relationships with the children in Kiryat Moshe. Everyday we are coming closer and closer to embodying the mission statement we decided on at our first meeting.

“We are here to expand our knowledge of how Jews in other communities live; to create ties with a plethora of Jews. We wish to create an awareness of their present living conditions here, to the community in Toronto. We hope to gain appreciation from this unique experience in order to enrich the lives of many.”

We, and the children of Kiryat Moshe owe so much gratitude to the UJA and Hillel of Greater Toronto for funding out trip and allowing us to make a contribution to this community in need.