October 1, 2007 / 19 Tishrei 5768

Since childhood, Noga Nevo has been a motivated, community-oriented young woman.  Now 23, Noga has taken her activism to the next level by participating in the Jewish Agency’s Youth Futures program, a groundbreaking initiative of national scope that brings together young social activists to help children at-risk.  Through Youth Futures, Noga has helped many Israeli children find the path towards a successful future.

Noga grew up in northern Israel, outside the city of Carmiel. As an active member in Working and Studying Youth, the largest and most varied of all the youth movements in Israel, Noga, like her peers, became committed to social action. By the time she was in high school, Noga was involved in social programs to improve educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth.  Upon completing high school, Noga and her youth movement peers postponed their army service for a year and lived together communally in the city of Holon, running youth activities and enrichment programs for the city’s youth. “We believe that it is crucial to put education at the forefront of the social agenda, and that this will bring about fundamental change in our society,” says Noga.

Noga and her friends did their army service together, again initiating educational activities in Israel’s disadvantaged areas and working to build community involvement among youth in these areas. “We set high standards for the youth we work with and encourage them to be active and contribute to their neighborhoods.  Our outreach activities with them include painting houses for senior citizens, distributing food to the needy and organizing community celebrations.”

Today, Noga and the same core group of friends are living and working communally in the southern city of Ofakim with new immigrant teenage girls from Russia and Kavkaz. They are an example of the Jewish Agency’s Youth Futures program, an enterprise which ensures that these children are given comprehensive, high-impact, tailored intervention that will allow them to take their place as independent, constructive members of society.  “I will always be involved in communal life,” says Noga. “And knowing that there are other core groups from our youth movement doing the same thing we are doing all over the country makes me certain that we are really affecting social change.”

With your help, the Jewish Agency can continue to support the vital programs like Youth Futures and to help create a better future for Israel, one child at a time. For more information about how you can help, click here.

To learn more about Youth Futures, click here.