By Dr. Darla Shaw, Professor of Education, Western Connecticut State University
Darla visited Afula/Gilboa with the Bonei G'sharim mission. This is part of her letter summarizing her visit.
Partnership 2000 should take great pride in the humanitarian work that is being done in the war torn area of Afula and Gilboa. Through the concentrated efforts of this program , four major projects are bringing a new sense of hope and confidence to people in this area.
Two weeks ago I traveled as an non-funded, Christian with Barbara Levitt of the Danbury, Connecticut region to take part in the Bonei Gsharim Leadership Development Trip. Since I am a professor of education at Western Connecticut State University and have traveled to many foreign countries on humanitarian projects, I was interested in getting ideas from the Partnership Program and also helping out in any way that I could.
During my three day visit, I constantly found myself in awe of the assistance that I saw being provided by these various ventures that have been funded. I was very impressed by the leadership and the creativity in each of the projects. As we went from venue to venue we met not only the person in charge, but volunteers and the actual people that were receiving the help. At no time did I feel that money was not being spent wisely. In fact, on many occasions I only wished we could implement some of these programs in the United States.
While in Afula, Barbara and I stayed at the Emunah Children's Center as the guests of Shlomo Kessel and his wife. We were so impressed with how many lives have been changed through this Children's Center. I can't wait to see the Emunah Chorus, the Emunotes, when they come to Danbury next December. I will be more than happy to host several of them in my home.
Equally impressive were our visits to the Children's Village where children at risk become part of a family unit and Nir Ha'emek, WIZO Youth Village. At Children's Village we met with a woman who has five children and has taken in 12 others to live in her own home on the grounds of this Youth Village. The children were so happy, respectful, and productive. At Nir Ha'emek we saw how youths, even of military age , were being serviced in a number of different ways. At Nir Ha'emek we also met the dynamic director of the Therapeutic Riding Center, Yvonne Benn. This woman has done so much for both the mentally and physically challenged. She is now extending her horseback riding program into the area of dog training and expects to get equally as good results. The closest I have seen to her equestrian related program in the States is at Green Chimneys in Brewster, N.Y.
A program that is also funded by Partnership 2000 was another animal oriented program for at risk children. This program was aimed at drug prevention and having children train stray dogs so that people will be willing to accept the animals into their homes. Tears came to your eyes when the previous drug abusers talked about how caring for these dogs changed their lives. The program was simple but so very powerful. I have never seen a program like this in the States.
Earlier this year I had met with Asaf Ron, Director of Formal Education, Gilboa, while he was in Danbury. We had discussed different middle/high school programs that help with conflict resolution. It was good to meet with him again and continue our dialogue. Asaf Ron's program involved tutoring of students from different ethnic backgrounds in a differentiated way. This differentiated learning was also true of the Youth Futures Program in the local elementary schools. For this program we again met the tutors who focus on 16 different students each day. We also met the parents of the at risk students and the students themselves. Statistics are now being taken to see how much progress is actually being made with this additional tutorial help. It was good to see that the Partnership 2000 Project is not using word of mouth as its only evaluative tool.
Having been involved with the Women's Center in Danbury I was interested in seeing the Women's Center in Afula which opened only three years ago. There are only seven such centers in the entire country and Afula is one of them. Much of the success of this center is due to the outstanding leadership of Dr. Judith Antonelli, head of the pediatric emergency at the Emek Medical Center. This center is not only dealing with issues of rape and abuse, but with women's health, education, family life and empowerment. The women and volunteers at this center had hundreds of successful stories of to share.
During the last day of our trip we visited the Emek Medical Center which is a total treasure unto itself. Here we saw all ethnic groups working side by side and helping any patient that came in, no matter what skirmishes were taking place all around the area. Here we saw perpetrator and victim being cared for side by side. It was so good to see money going to such an outstanding humanitarian facility. .
We then ended our visit with the Merchavia Absorption Center where Ethiopians are being brought into the culture and economy of Israel. Here again we see how the Jewish people reach out to help others no matter what their race, religion and plight. Programs such as this need to serve as a model for other developing countries.
After visiting the various locations and listening to the discussions, I felt that I was best suited to help develop two different projects. One project was called a Living Bridge Project where there is a two way exchange between the States and Israel. With this new approach, the people of Israel would receive funding but would also give back culturally and historically to their counterparts in the United States.
For the Living Bridge Project I came up with 15 different programs that can be done at very little cost. Some of these projects I have already initiated on a local level with the Federation Mentoring Program in Danbury. These programs include an art, mural or DVD exchange, video conferencing, scrap booking and artifact boxing, and making of cultural ABC books. I have offered to work with people in the States or in Israel on any of these projects individually and/or give workshops to the people who would be administering the projects.
After meeting with Dr. Matthew Silver from Emek Yizreel College and Mayor Avi Elkabetz of Alfula, I also felt that I could help facilitate an exchange program with Emek Yizreel College in Afula and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Ct. These two schools are in sister towns and have much in common culturally and economically.
I have already contacted several key people at our university who are very positive about the project. Barbara Levitt has also initiated a meeting in early Aug. with a number of interested parties to discuss the feasibility of a curriculum related project for Jan. 2010. Instead of just funding projects, this exchange would help our young people have a first hand experience with Jewish History and Culture and would begin the formation of a Living Bridge.
In conclusion, I would just like to thank the Partnership 2000 people for allowing an "outsider" such as myself to view first hand the wonderful job that you do with fundraising, choice of programs, follow ups, and evaluations. So often with my humanitarian work I see mismanagement of funds, programs that falter, and the residents not taking on the leadership role. It was just the opposite in this case. The people in Israel were completely in charge of their projects, they were accountable for the funding and the proper use of the money and they had a multitude of evidence on how the funding had truly made a difference in the area of Afula and Gilboa. I congratulate you all on a truly wonderful partnership.