(Network of 7 neighborhood centers founded by Ethiopian volunteers in Hadera)

 

  

 

Thirteen years ago a number of Ethiopian college students, concerned with the number of children from their community who had little to nothing to do in the afternoons, began a call-in center - in the stairwell of a high block of apartments built in the 1950s to absorb new immigrants.

When the stairwell became too small, they moved to an open area and sat their young charges under a large tree.  When the shade ran out as the number of children grew, they began to look seriously for a place to call their own.

Students participating in Givat Haviva's MASA Intensive Arabic Semester (the curriculum of which also includes general studies about Israel and the Middle East) journeyed recently to the first of the six centers now run by MAKSAM, the organization for the enrichment of schoolwork born out of a dank stairwell.

"The Ethiopian community in Israel today stands at around one hundred and twenty thousand," explains Danny, one of the councilors and a founder of MAKSAM.  "Among the Ethiopian population is a large number of Falash Mura, Ethiopians whom missionaries converted from Judaism to Christianity.  Known as the Falash Mura, they were never really accepted by other Christians but, on the other hand, seen by the Jewish communities as Christian.  For a Jew to marry a Falash Mura was considered a negative thing and, apart from everything else that has made Ethiopian immigrant absorption difficult in Israel, this is still something relevant to internal relationships between the different groups."

The MASA students and Dr. David Mendelsohn, Academic Director for the Givat Haviva study program, are sitting with Danny and MAKSAM public relations officer and fund raiser Liz Tal, in a shelter that the concerned students cleaned up, painted and turned into an underground educational center – literally.

The main air raid shelter is a large room with a half a dozen smaller ones leading off.  Each of the rooms is a classroom, English is being taught to different age groups in two of them, Hebrew enrichment in another as in a larger room, a group of children are watching a video film – a once a week treat.  The days film delight - The Simpson's, dubbed over in Hebrew of course.

Seventy-five children come to this totally windowless but very bright center every day, entering at 16.00 and leaving for home at 19.00.  The main subjects the enrichment program embraces are English, Mathematics, Hebrew and Art.  The whole complex is decorated with artwork, some created by individual children, others group projects.  The exhibits include paintings and sculptures.  The book lined main room also boasts a number of large photographs depicting the exodus of the Ethiopian Jewish community in clandestine operations carried out by Israel.

"Apart from teaching the academic subjects dealt with here, there is a strong emphasis on maintaining pride in their own ethnic language and culture, whilst at the same time strengthening their Israeli identity," explains Liz Tal, a British immigrant who has been with the organization for the last 3 years.

The present credit crunch has seriously affected the centers but they are determined to continue with their activities.

"We used to provide every child with a hot meal and this is now unfortunately impossible," said Liz Tal sadly.

Yet another room in the concrete maze is an impressive computer center.  The dozen or so computers donated by Rotary Clubs in Israel and abroad.  The afternoon MASA students visited only four children were using the computers.  Being as it was the day before Lag Ba'Omer many of their regular 'customers' were out gathering firewood for the neighborhood bonfire the following day.

Educational director for the MAKSAM network is Dalia Klipper, a former headmistress.  She is working with both professional and volunteer staff in all the centers and has a tiny office in the center run out of the underground shelter.

In recent times the Ethiopian children have been joined by Israeli born children of Russian immigrants living in Hadera's Pe'er neighborhood where the underground shelters are located.

"The father of one of the Russian children took the first step and brought his son to us and then others followed," explained Liz Tal. 

The teaching staff is made up of Israeli born educators as well as new immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia and they are supplemented by volunteers, some of whom former MAKSAM 'graduates' who want to give something back to the community.

As an important component of the Givat Haviva MASA program is volunteering in the community – which the present group is undertaking in Arara village – MAKSAM staff said they would be delighted for MASA students to assist with English language enrichment for their children.

MAKSAM  is an Amharic word describing the process of bees passing from flower to flower collecting nectar to produce honey, and now definitely a buzz-word for the huge efforts being made to facilitate sweet success for immigrant kinder in what had been a garbage-filled reeking labyrinth of concrete shelters.]

 

Danny & David Mendelsohn

 

Hard at work

 

Dalia Klipper & David Mendelsohn

 

Ethiopian figurines

 

Photos of Operation Solomon

 

Underground English class

 

PHOTOS & TEXT: Lydia Aisenberg

MAY, 2009