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.
Feature Stories
Country
Developing Tomorrow’s Jewish Leaders
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Rekindling Jewish Life in Lithuania, One Family at a Time
Liora, 15, first came to the Ilan Youth Club at Vilnius’s Jewish Community Center (JCC) when she was only 7 years old, and initially she felt completely lost. She observed a circle of people passing a box full of spices, praying over wine, and putting their hands up to a candle while staring at their fingertips. Liora had no idea she was witnessing her first Havdallah ceremony.
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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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Inspired Volunteer Engages Young Jews in Moldova
Julia Shoymaru, 18, is Deputy Director of Haverim, a JDC young leadership program in Chisinau (Kishinev), Moldova. She is the group’s proudest advocate, because this is where she found her home, her identity, and her voice.
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Passover Inspires Volunteerism in Belarus
Marina is an only child. She shares a rundown two-room flat in Minsk, Belarus with her parents, both of whom are disabled and struggle to subsist on a monthly pension. The Jewish community has been this family’s lifeline since Marina was a young girl. In addition to providing her with basic food and medicines, JDC has enabled Marina to attend Jewish camp, participate in Hillel activities, and attend myriad programs at the local JDC-supported Jewish Community Center (JCC).
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Leader's Vision Helps Brazil's Jewish Community Grow
Gabriel heads up the JCC Hebraica, São Paulo’s premier Jewish hub that buzzes with activities for Jews of every age. Learn how JDC’s leadership training in Latin America helped Gabriel shape and realize his vision for his community.
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The New Generation Leads Jewish Renewal in Bulgaria
Just one generation ago, Jewish life in Bulgaria and throughout much of Europe and the former Soviet Union had been nearly silenced by decades of Communism and the preceding war years; today Martin is among thousands of young people growing up practicing Judaism openly in renascent Jewish communities across the region.
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Enterprising Community Leader Mirrors the New Dynamism of Turkey’s Young Jews
Lisi, a 29-year-old volunteer organizer in Turkey, says, “Our community is small, but our potential is enormous.” Find out how JDC’s leadership training helped her recruit hundreds of unaffiliated young people to Istanbul’s Jewish community.
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Young Leader Brings Jewish Inspiration Home to India
Despite the challenges of growing up Jewish in Mumbai, Meirah’s family ensured she’d have a strong Jewish identity. Find out how JDC’s leadership training programs empowered this dynamite community leader.
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In Argentina, Student Gets Scholarship and Gives a Hand
Kevin hardly remembers Argentina’s economic collapse in 2001 because the crisis in his home started long before then. Find out how JDC answered this troubled family’s call for help and how Kevin is giving back to his community today.