Ethiopian National Project (ENP) Youth Outreach Center “YELMA” in Beit Shemesh

WHO:

Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers aged 13- 18.

WHAT:

ENP’s Youth Outreach Centers are providing Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers with a resource that otherwise would be unavailable to them, giving them opportunities to discover their skills, talents, passions and abilities.

The goals of ENP Youth Outreach Centers are:

• Reduce risk behaviors and delinquency– lower rates of drug use, alcohol abuse, violent activities and crime.
• Encourage personal growth - higher aspirations for the future, greater self-confidence, improved interpersonal skills.

It is an indispensable service, especially in the town of Beit Shemesh: 

• Counselors running the Center are young, Ethiopian-Israeli university graduates who serve as positive role models for the teenagers.  
• The Center provides workshops in areas such as strengthening self-image, personal identity, and a sense of belonging to the community and to the State of Israel.
• Parents are actively involved in the Center, and assistance is provided to them to help them understand and deal with the additional struggle of coping with adolescent youth.
• The Center aims to increase self-esteem and engender a sense of social responsibility among Ethiopian-Israeli youth by encouraging them to volunteer and contribute to the wider community.

ENP Youth Outreach Centers have been demonstrated to be unequivocally successful by external evaluations:

• The Centers successfully attract its target population: 73% of the youth at ENP's Youth Outreach Centers do not attend any other after-school framework and 68% of the youth have never participated in such a framework previously. (Myers-JDC-Brookdale Report, 2008) 
• Increase in self-confidence: ENP’s programs drastically increase Ethiopian-Israeli teens’ self-confidence, even after just a short period of intensive support.  Seventy-five percent of participants in ENP’s Youth Outreach Centers say they feel confident enough to raise their hands and answer questions in class, in contrast to a mere 56% when asked two years prior. (Myers-JDC-Brookdale Report, 2008)
• Reduction in Juvenile Delinquency: Since the launch of ENP's Youth Outreach Centers in 2005, there has been a 60% decrease in the number of new police files opened for Ethiopian-Israeli youth.

WHEN:

Open daily from 4pm to 10pm, five days per week during the school year and for longer hours during the summer vacation, the Center provides the teenagers with variety of enriching, creative and empowering extra-curricular activities.

WHERE:

Gefen neighborhood of Beit Shemesh.

WHY:

Growing up in low-income neighborhoods with little to do with their time other than wander aimlessly through the streets, it’s all too easy for youth at risk to succumb to the temptations of crime, drugs and alcohol.  ENP’s Youth Outreach Centers offer a safe haven to the most alienated Ethiopian-Israeli teenagers. 

PLEASE SHARE A STORY ABOUT THE CENTER:

A year ago, Chala and his friends used to spend most of their weekends going out drinking and trying to get into the clubs in Tel Aviv.  Had you met Chala back then, you never would have imagined that just one year later he would be one of the main youth leaders at the ENP Youth Outreach Center and have just returned from an inspiring, educational trip to Poland.

It is fair to say that the ENP Youth Outreach Center has literally transformed Chala's life. Chala, now aged seventeen and a half has been coming to the Youth Outreach Center since the day it opened.  He enjoyed the social activities that the Center offers and took a particular interest in the Amharic course.  Until recently, Chala had been known as "Yosef", the name given to him by his teacher in school.  However, he learned that his real name, Chalachaw, means "the ability to withstand challenges" and he decided to return to using his real name (albeit an abbreviated version, "Chala ") as a sign of pride in his Ethiopian heritage.  Chala has also been one of the most dedicated teens attending a weekly leadership training program at the Center, and he was selected to participate in a four-day, nation wide leadership training seminar run by the youth movement HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed (The Federation of Working and Studying Youth).

Chala was also selected to be part of a special youth delegation trip to Poland with the Federation of Working and Studying Youth after he took part in a series of workshops exploring the Holocaust and its meaning for contemporary Israeli society.  The trip was a truly eye-opening experience for him. In particular, the program emphasized the role of youth in bringing about change in society and it was clear that Chala truly internalized this message of responsibility.  On his return, Chala announced his desire to take on a greater leadership role at the Center.  He has persuaded his younger sister to come to the Center and he has been active in running activities for the younger kids.

This year, Chala is participating in a course exploring the world of work and career opportunities and it is clear that he envisions a bright future.  When asked about his aspirations for the future, he replied "In five years time I want to be finishing up my studies in university.  In twenty years time I want to be the CEO of a start-up company". Thanks to the wonderful opportunities afforded to him by the ENP Youth Outreach Center the sixteen year old youth who once spent his free time hanging around the Beit Shemesh town center, has transformed himself into an ambitious and responsible young man. 

The Center is open to all who come in to its doors.

COST TO PARTICIPATE:

As 65% of Ethiopian-Israel children live under the poverty line, all ENP Youth Outreach Center programs are free of charge.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

For more information about the Ethiopian National Project, contact:   
Grace Rodnitzki
Director of International Relations
Ethiopian National Project (ENP)
Office: 972-2-620-2843
Mobile: 972-52-613-0722
Fax: 972-620-2455
grace@enp.org.il

Web site: www.enp.org.il
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ENPIsrael
Blog: www.enpblog.blogspot.com
Twitter: @ENPIsrael

Past Facts

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