After School Program
Givat Olga is one of the largest neighborhoods in Hadera, located close to the Mediterranean coastline. During its early years, Givat Olga was settled by many immigrants from North Africa, who were living in transit camps. The neighborhood has since undergone many demographic changes and absorbed numerous new immigrants from Ethiopia and the Caucasus. Today, over 1/3 of Givat Olga’s 12,000 inhabitants are new immigrants.
The Ben Gurion Community Center is a place that was once supported through Project Renewal and Wizo. Today it lacks even the basic necessities. Seventy children make their way there each day after school. This is a low income neighborhood and twice a week the Community Centre is the place where families wait in line for a hot meal provided by Dave’s Kitchen. The majority of children are from Ethiopian families where the socio economic level is low. The municipality pays for limited staff and they have volunteers who help out.
Our Involvement
We visited the Community Center in Givat Olga and saw where the families line up outside to collect hot meals. The building itself has great potential but as it is right now it had us wondering what the children do there. We did see a keyboard, a computer and in the one large room there is nothing but a donated ping pong table. There are no games or books. The kids need tutoring and they need something to do after school. The tiny kitchen houses an old refrigerator and a stove that does not work.
We asked the staff to come up with a list of the most needed items to help make this a working after school program. For $4,161 the place will get a new coat of paint, a microwave, water heater, curtains, books, games, films, speakers and screen, garbage cans, balls and bats.
Youth at risk can be defined as young people whose background places them "at risk" of future offending or victimization due to environmental, social and family conditions. The Ben Gurion Community Center as it stood was not going to help. With the help of Hands On Tzedakah, these new Israelis will have a better chance to escape an uncertain, unproductive and hopeless future. More help is needed and next we would like to see a tutoring program instituted.
