Service
The core of the Yahel Social Change Program is volunteer work. Participants work side by side with volunteers and staff of Friends by Nature – joining ongoing work in the following projects:

• Tutoring: joining local teachers in tutoring students in various subjects (with an emphasis on English) as part of the ‘homework at home’ academic assistance program.
• Community Gardening: working together with local residents in community gardens in the Shapira neighborhood.
• Urban Renewal: teaming up with local groups to paint, repair and clean up public spaces in the community.
• Youth Activities: Taking part in facilitating recreational and educational activities for at-risk youth in the neighborhood as part of the Friends by Nature youth center.
• Additional projects: Together with community members, participants engage in a process of identifying unmet needs and work together to create appropriate programming.

Learning
The learning component is an integral part of the Yahel Social Change Program and touches on many aspects of the experience.

• Issue-based learning engages participants in learning about immigration, absorption, diversity and social change in Israel.
• Cross-cultural training facilitates the integration of participants into their host community.
• The Social Justice Beit Midrash is a pluralistic and creative setting that engages participants in a dialogue with texts and traditions that deal with questions of social justice and ethics.
• Leadership development training focuses on the potential of participants to become change-makers themselves.

Participants will meet with major Israeli change-makers, community members, activists and experts from different fields. In addition, Yahel staff members will lead group discussions and support participants' individual learning throughout the experience.

Gedera and Friends by Nature
For the duration of the program the group will be based in the Shapira neighborhood in the town of Gedera. Gedera is a small town (population 18,000) about 30 kilometers south of Tel Aviv. Approximately 1,300 Ethiopian Israelis live in the Shapira neighborhood along two main streets. In the past, the Shapira neighborhood has had challenges with at-risk youth, high dropout rates and poor academic performance. Many young residents are struggling to connect to mainstream Israeli society while maintaining a connection to their traditional culture.

Friends by Nature - Community Empowerment is a non-profit organization established in 2005 with the goal of strengthening and empowering Israeli-Ethiopian communities. After many years working with different programs trying to give assistance to Ethiopian communities, the founders of Friends by Nature concluded that community change would be most effective if it came from the communities themselves. A group of young adults and families from diverse backgrounds moved to Gedera as part of the ‘Gedera community Gar’in’ – an intentional community that aims to contribute to the community and strengthen it from within. All programming focuses on strengthening the sense of identity and the family unit in ways that are culturally sensitive and show a deep appreciation for the immigrants’ unique cultural background.

Watch a short movie about Friends by Nature in Gedera here

Study tours and day trips

The Yahel Social Change Program includes day trips as well as monthly overnight study tours. These trips are an opportunity to experience Israel off the beaten track, witness social change initiatives around the country, relax, and have fun.

Now accepting applications for the 2012 Yahel Social Change Program. Apply.

Program dates: September 2012-June 2013