Rabbi Andy Hechtman together with members of his Kol Ami congregation have enabled two poor youths from the Ethiopian community in Afula to participate in the Youth Leadership program directed by Soli under the auspices of the Youth Department of the City of Afula. For some years Soli a veteran immigrant from Ethiopia has been directing a program of teen leadership for the youths of the Ethiopian community in Afula. This is a two-year program in which 75 youths participate in three separate groups. The success that this program has in empowering these youths can be seen in the number of the program's graduates who participate in a national program for youth from the Ethiopian community called "Excellence". In the national program run by the Jewish Agency for Ethiopian youths of army age, there are 22 young people from all of Israel and of these, 5 of them are graduates of Afula's Ethiopian Young Leadership Program.

Unfortunately, there are numerous youths from the Ethiopian community in Afula who want to participate in this program and cannot do so because they don't have enough money for the bus transportation to get to and from the City Youth Department where the program meetings are held. These poor youths are not able to participate in other informal educational activity for that matter due to not having enough money for the bus fare. These kids stay home and do nothing, except maybe watch TV, and they often end up being the street kids and getting into trouble with the police. Soli very much wanted a contribution to be able to buy bus passes for these kids. The contribution that Rabbi Andy's congregants made to this program will enable Soli to do that.

When Rabbi Andy came to Afula-Gilboa in February to meet the candidates for the Partnership 2000 Young Emissary program for the year 2004-2005, he brought with him a special donation from the congregants of Kol Ami. This modest gift will make the difference in the lives of two Ethiopian youths who will receive bus passes and will therefore be able to participate in the Afula Youth Leadership Program for teens from the Ethiopian Community. This program offers a normative support framework, which contributes to higher self-esteem and a sense of empowerment in the youth's lives in Israel. Participation in the program raises the possibility of success in life for these teens.

So two youths instead of remaining on the fringes of the society and becoming potential juvenile delinquents will become part of a normative framework for the Ethiopian youth specifically and part of the wider Afula youth activities in general and be able to contribute to their own personal development and to the society.

We all appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity of our Partnership 2000 friends in Congregation Kol Ami. Thank you.

  Adar 5764 - March 2004