Shoshana Wineburg

Gedera, fall 2010 & spring 2011

After a year of learning social justice in Jerusalem, I came to Gedera to live social justice. Upon arrival, I thought I understood ideas like community organizing, empowerment, and sustainability. And I did—on a theoretical level. This experience has transformed these terms for me from a conceptual understanding to a realistic process: I don’t study empowerment from afar, I see it, I cultivate it, I do it. My work here has challenged me to think about the role of service work and to be a more thoughtful, more deliberate, and more sensitive volunteer. I came to Gedera looking for a community experience: I got exactly that. It has been amazing. From my housemates, to my fellow Ethiopian community members, to the kids I tutor, to the women I teach, my life is rich with meaningful and rewarding relationships. I feel privileged to be a part of this program, and more importantly, to be a part of this dynamic community.

Drew Fidler

Gedera, fall 2010

When I first decided to come on the Yahel Social Change Program, I was looking for a unique opportunity and eye-opening experience. I knew little about the Ethiopian Israeli community, I was not exactly positive what I would be doing, and I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going to be living. Looking back on the five months that I spent on the program, not only did I get to have a unique and exhilarating experience but I also became a part of a community full of history, vivacity, complexity, and compassion. From tutoring kids in Ethiopian-Israeli homes, to working in the Youth Center, to lectures and trips around the country I have been pushed and grown both professionally and personally. The relationships that I have built here and the different aspects and realities of Israeli life that I have seen have allowed me to develop my own grown-up and complex relationship with this beautiful country. I know that this experience - the successes and the failures, the relationships I have developed, the numerous lessons I have learned - will always be a part of me and will continue to influence me in both my personal and professional lives long after the program ends.

Jacob Mogerman

Gedera, fall 2010 & spring 2011

The Yahel Social Change program developed a deep humility within me.  Coming to a program like this I knew I was going to learn new things, but I was not prepared for the profound change in perspective that came along with it.  The strength of the program doesn't lie solely in its programming.  The most important aspect is the emphasis on living within the community and true immersion into it.  We know the families that live here in the Shapira neighborhood.  We work with their children.  We see them in meetings and meet them in our tutoring programs.  Our individual volunteer tasks in the neighborhood is very meaningful.  It is in the neighborhood that you start to understand what is meant my 'empowerment work'.  I work in the music program, and seeing the kids start to take control of the studio we built has been a fantastic thing.  Suddenly we stopped having to call them to come to practice.  As of now, they are heading to the studio in much of their own time without us, truly owning the space.  That I had something to do with some sort of change here, not changing for but changing with, really shows me what I can contribute.

Rachel Zieleniec

Gedera, fall 2010 & spring 2011

The Yahel Social Change Program has challenged me, while also providing me with a strong and supportive platform to grow as a person. Yahel has allowed me to find family in a group of strangers, find home in an unfamiliar environment and find comfort in some of my most uncomfortable moments. Immersing myself in an Ethiopian community has helped me gain insight into the many facets of veteran and immigrant Israeli life, as well as begin to understand all of its complexities. The best part of this experience has been living and learning social change. I have learned a great deal about what it is to create social change and what it is to work toward truly empowering a community.