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JDC’s Jewish Young Leadership Initiative in the Ukraine: Building Stronger, More Independent Communities
Jewish volunteer work within her home community of Lubny, a port town on the Sula River in Ukraine, earned Lena a paid position with the local Jewish Community Center and an invitation to participate in the first Jewish Young Leadership (JYL) training program. "The experience was unforgettable. I celebrated my first Shabbats, heard lectures on Judaism, and learned my first Israeli songs and dances," says the young woman. "I promised myself that I would become someone who develops and implements such programs in order to feel the joy of the experience again and share it with others."
Lena is one of scores of young adults that have vied each of the past three years for 30 coveted places in the JYL training. The program, established by JDC in 2002, helps to develop local leadership, promote voluntarism, and instill a sense of Jewish communal responsibility in the younger generation in Northern and Eastern Ukraine by providing them with the necessary resources and tools to succeed. Chosen candidates participate in four week-long seminars — taught over the course of the year by experts from Israel and Ukraine — that help them to develop skills in community development, management and leadership, Jewish tradition, and community projects. Throughout the course, participants begin to apply what they have learned, recruiting volunteers in their respective communities to help organize celebrations, events, educational programs, and service projects. As part of their particular course, Lena and her fellow students created volunteer projects that helped families in need by painting and remodeling homes, tutoring, and lending other support. "We let them know that the Jewish community cares about them!" Lena also developed her own project — a dance studio — whose practical implementation was supported by JDC professionals, who also offer their expertise during the seminars. 
Returning to work at the JCC between Jewish Young Leadership seminars, Lena remarked that her professional and volunteer activities were notably enhanced by the tremendous amount of information and positive reinforcement she had received in the training program. "Working as head of the Jewish dance group ‘Tsimmes’, I tried to teach not only choreography, but also basic Jewish values. In addition to regular rehearsals, I helped the children write articles on everyday life and holidays in our community for local Jewish periodicals. We also participated in concerts and memorial meetings, and helped clean the area near the monument to 4,000 Holocaust victims who perished in the Zasulsky Yar."
Other participants opt to prepare and lead Passover seders in a number of locales, orchestrate seasonal events for Lag B’Omer and other Jewish holidays, and throughout the year seek out and coordinate volunteers to perform community services such as home visits to children with disabilities, cleanups of local Jewish cemeteries, and Jewish education weekends — Shabbatons. One such event took place earlier this year, when JYL graduates and prospects teamed up with JCC Beit Dan to coordinate a Shabbaton for 60 Jewish youth in Kharkov, Northern Ukraine. Through role-playing and discussions about tradition, participants garnered a greater pride in their Jewish identity and a sense of what they could do to contribute to the richness of their local community. For some, like Sasha, age 24, it was a first real exposure to their Jewish roots. "I was completely impressed by the Shabbaton atmosphere, especially Kabbalat Shabbat and Havdallah ceremonies," he said. "There was a large circle of people, the songs bearing incredible energy, the candle lighting and handmade kippas and Shabbat-o-Grams…These memories will always have a special place in my heart." A framework is currently being established to support JYL graduates in implementing their community projects and maintaining a high level of involvement in Jewish communal life and voluntarism once the course has been completed. To date, over 60% of the nearly 100 JYL graduates have gone on to become active volunteers in their local communities, and some 300 new local volunteers have been cultivated by graduates. Professional support and guidance of the graduates will also help to provide them with fellowship opportunities to further leverage their experience to the benefit of the local community and to the Jewish people at large. Such was the case with Lena, who went on to become a madricha (counselor) for the next generation of JYL students and is currently working as the Coordinator of Jewish Renewal Programs in Kharkov. September 2005 |
