Two years ago, Odet, 19, was in the midst of a deep personal crisis. Born and raised in a Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community in Jerusalem, she was finishing school and looking ahead at the next chapter of her life—one that would imminently lead to marriage and children.
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.
At his elementary school, Sammy is just one of many students from struggling homes—recent immigrants from the Caucuses, single-parent families, parents with chronic illnesses or addictions, victims of second- or third-generation poverty, and more recently, migrant workers.
"This family has gone from dependency to self-sufficiency—and is now able to help others." That's how their mentor described Danny and Tseganesh Bruk of Rishon LeZion, recent graduates of a three-year JDC empowerment program for Ethiopian-Israelis.
“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.”
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.
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.
At first glance, Ruth, an American-Israeli journalist living in Jerusalem, and Ibtisam, a Palestinian mother of three from the West Bank, could not be from more different worlds. But last month, as they joined JDC’s COPE Forum for Palestinian and Israeli Breast Cancer Survivors on a trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, they cemented a bond that transcends ethnic, religious, and national divides—a bond that can only be understood by fellow survivors of the disease.
“The first time my 14-year-old son saw me using a cane for the blind he went completely pale with shock. That’s when I knew I needed to confront my disability and to find a way to help him deal with it too,” says Ella, 40, a working mom whose sight has been degenerating steadily for the past seven years. “Being a parent and a spouse with a visual disability presents a lot of challenges. I needed help overcoming mine.”