On December 4th, Washington D.C. sponsored participants Sara Barokas and Emily Spero Smith and myself, Barbara Kovar, sponsored by Atlanta moved into our new home in Beit Shemesh. The three of us are all part of a 10-month volunteer program, sponsored by the Jewish Federations through UJC, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and the Israeli Forum called Project OTZMA.
We recently finished volunteering for the duration of 2 1/2 months in Ashqelon, at the Beit Canada Mercaz Klita (Absorption Center). It was there that we, along with the 15 other OTZMA participants received our first dose of Israeli society. Living almost through the eyes of olim chadeshim (new immigrants), we partook in Ulpan classes, lived with new immigrants (mostly Ethiopian), volunteered in mercaz klita and an IDF-sponsored program called Atidim in development towns. Additionally, we had education sessions every Tuesday, a more formal introduction to the complexities of Israeli society.
This second component of Project OTZMA, sends groups of three or more OTZMAnikim to their communities' Partnership 2000 regions. The purpose of this track is to tie the bond between not only the Diaspora and Israel, but more specifically our home communities and Israel. It builds on what we have learned and experienced in Ashqelon, but this time allows us to live on our own, as adults within Israeli society, and choose our own volunteering projects. We live in these communities for three months, in housing provided for us. Sara, Emily and I live in a spacious and comfortable townhouse situated on Rehov Ha'Shita, amongst some of the friendliest neighbors, who are constantly inviting us over for Shabbat meals, and saying "hello" as we pass on the streets.
With the generous help of our OTZMA staff Ami Levin, Michelle Herman and Yossi Smadja, along with our Beit Shemesh community coordinator, Tamar Vaknin, and Federation Representative, Ira Kerem, we were introduced to many of the volunteering outlets in Beit Shemesh.
Along with some that we sought out on our own, Sara, Emily and I chose programs and created projects that truly suit our interests. Our daily schedule consists of 6-8 hours of community service a day, with one-half day a week, Friday and Saturday free. Our time is filled with different projects that take place all over the Beit Shemesh community, which allowed us to quickly become acquainted with the layout of our city and the bus system.
Personally, I am involved in various programs from tutoring English to leading an art class. Twice a week, I volunteer at Begin Elementary School, teaching English to sections of third and fourth grade classes. The teacher that I am working for, Rosa, is allowing me to design my own classes, under her curriculum goals. She gives me much liberty and trusts my judgement in regards to my spoken English lessons. I am also volunteering at Enosh, during an evening social club for adults with mental illnesses. I will be teaching weekly art classes at a new center for young high school age girls that have run away from home; (this home was recently started by the efforts of a local Beit Shemesh resident).
Additionally, I volunteer at the Binyamin library, where many children come after school to do homework, or simply to spend some of their extra time in the afternoon. At the library, I have done everything from wrapping, shelving, checking out and renewing books to playing and planning activities with the children and reading books with them. Together, my roommates are going to help plan an annual book fair (started last year by OTZMA's previous volunteers), as a fundraiser for the library.
During the evenings, when our free time coincides, we cook delicious dinners together and share in our experiences of the day in this wonderful country. From Sara's passion for teaching, to Emily's experience working with women, to my love of art, we have all found creative outlets to put our talents to use in this welcoming community, and are delighted to call Beit Shemesh our home.
Shvat 5762 - January 2002