Building Community Through Volunteers in Jewish Mumbai
Tahl Mayer, JDC Entwine’s 2012-2013 Jewish Service Corps Fellow in Mumbai, India has joined the local Jewish Community Center (JCC) to spearhead a new youth leadership and engagement initiative.
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Young Leader Uses Art to Promote Jewish Culture in St. Petersburg
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia in the years after the fall of Communism, Masha Sergeeva, 21, grew up with limited understanding of—or pride in—her Jewish identity. That’s all changed now.
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Jewish Education in Istanbul Paves Way for Community’s Future
Rafi came to Ulus as a first-grader, but after his parents divorced and finances for his single mom grew thin, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to remain there to complete his education—even though he anticipated the incredible opportunities it could offer him.
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Early Childhood Initiative Gives Israel’s At-Risk Children New Beginnings
Odelia knew her five-year-old daughter “Tamar” was different. After learning she’d been a victim of abuse at the first day care she ever attended, Odelia was reluctant to enroll her in kindergarten full time. Then she heard about the New Beginnings program at a local kindergarten in Netanya.
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Volunteer Takes Her Jewish Spirit From Durham to Duisburg and Beyond
Sarah Goldenstein, 25, never imagined she’d go from teaching Sunday school in her home state of North Carolina to helping build Jewish community among Russian immigrants in Germany, but that’s exactly what she’s been doing for the past two years as a Jewish Service Corps fellow through JDC’s Entwine initiative for inspired young Jews.
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With New Possibilities, Israeli Arab Youth Thrive
Young Israelis in JDC’s Afikim program benefit from both individual mentorship and group workshops that help them gain self-assurance, develop professional skills, and learn real-life problem-solving strategies.
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Back to School Inspires Rwanda’s Youngest to See Far
“If you see far, you will go far,” is the first thing a teen orphan will hear when they climb atop the mountain peak in Rwamagana, Rwanda to join the community of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV). Home to 500 students from each of Rwanda’s 30 regions, the village is a safe-haven that offers education, family, and hope for the future to young people who had lost everything in the country’s genocide and its aftermath.
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From Argentina to Mexico, A Jewish Leader’s Light Burns Bright
“Judaism is a spark in my heart and I feel committed to bringing it to others,” says Dr. Daniel Fainstein, a proud Jewish leader in Mexico who is the Dean and a Professor of Jewish Studies and Education at the Hebrew University of Mexico, Latin America’s only Jewish academic college.
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Scholarships Give Greece’s Jewish Children Second Chance at J-School
Since closing the doors of the family clothing business in Athens for good last year, Rafail, 58 has had to count every Euro. Unable to afford the mortgage or sell the house, he and his wife, Sara were forced to cut spending back to a near halt—including pulling their small children, Lela, 10, and Moni, 6, out of Athens’ Jewish Community School.
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Young Teacher Promotes Jewish Continuity in Ancient Community
Geula is 21, born and raised in Djerba, Tunisia, to a Jewish family whose roots here go back for centuries. But in the spirit of the times—and her country—she isn't spending much time looking at the past. Instead, she sets her sights on her work as a teacher, equipping her female students with the tools to be the next link in the unbroken chain she believes makes her community special.