One year ago, Shelly M. felt like she’d hit rock bottom. A 32-year-old single mother of two children, 7 and 5, she was living in public housing and relying on a government-issued food card to feed her young daughters. Shelly hadn’t worked in two years and was drowning in debt.
“As a child I couldn’t imagine coming to terms with my disability,” says Hanaa, 32, who was born congenitally blind, the youngest of six children in an Israeli Arab family with limited means. “But once I did, I realized I could derive motivation from it and go far.”
Mila A., 24, loves her job. Every day she helps immigrants set out on their life’s course at the very same JDC Center for Young Adults where she was once received help on her own challenging journey, which has now come full circle.
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.
“When I first heard about the JDC-NFTE entrepreneurship program I didn’t think it was for a girl like me—I never considered going into business,” says 16-year-old Rahhef, an Israeli Arab teen who lives in an impoverished Arab village in northern Israel. “But now that I’ve completed the program I’m in love with the world of business and I’m open to so many new possibilities.”
JDC's multi-year plan with the Government of Israel is helping Israeli Arabs face these challenges head on through the creation of employment training and placement centers in Arab cities and towns. Through the partnership, 20 employment centers will be built to serve Arab, Bedouin, and Druze communities across Israel. Five of these centers are already up and running and the remainder will be operational by 2015.
Struck by tragedy, 23-year-old Avigail was raising her three young sons alone. Find out how JDC’s employment training program for disadvantaged Israeli women empowered this Kavkazi immigrant.
Fakhera was only 15 when her father lost his job and she dropped out of school to help her family of nine survive. Find out how JDC’s Turning Point program helped this Israeli at-risk teen gain business acumen and get on track to success.
Igor K., 40, is an invalid who came to Israel less than one year ago from Luhansk, Ukraine. Since childhood he has struggled with diabetes, and today he can barely walk; with his knee distorted by a 30 degree angle, he is fully reliant on a crutch to support the right side of his body. When asked about his day-to-day challenges in his new homeland, he says his biggest impediment is isolation.
Pini Mendel, co-founder of a boutique tech company, is one of Israel’s trailblazing social entrepreneurs. Find out how JDC’s employment initiative helps him fully staff his pioneering firm with 90 ultra-Orthodox women who are among the best programmers in the business.