Amit(l) and his Youth Futures Trustee Dudu
March 28, 2007 / 9 Nissan 5767
One out of every four children in Israel lives in poverty. In a terrible twist of irony, those hardest hit are precisely those most vulnerable to begin with. The widening socioeconomic gap between youngsters in Israel’s Negev and Galilee periphery regions and those living in big cities is consuming the future of tens of thousands of young people.
|
Dudu with Amit on a class field trip
|
The Jewish Agency’s Youth Futures program works to close this gap, providing youngsters with the tools and skills they need to build a bright and meaningful future. Its breakthrough partnership model maximizes all available resources in a child’s environment through personalized intervention, role-modeling, mentorship and crisis management; the program enriches their lives educationally, culturally and socially. Because their future is synonymous with the future of the Israeli people, these youngsters deserve every opportunity to realize their potential, to believe in themselves, to succeed where they have only experienced failure and to contribute to a strong Israel.
As part of Youth Futures, professionally trained Trustees mentor the young participants, ages 6 to 13, over a period of three years. The Trustees, idealistic young adults dedicated to advancing social justice in Israel, provide youngsters at risk with a positive big brother/sister role model. As they become involved in all aspects of the youngsters' lives, the trustees help their charges overcome the barriers life has thrown their way and open their minds to fresh ideas and possibilities.
Amit Kirshner is a sixth grade student at the Ye’elim School in Eilat. The following letter, written by his parents, reflects the real impact Youth Futures is making in bringing children from risk to promise.
When we first heard about the Jewish Agency’s Youth Futures program, we didn’t have too many expectations. Now, several months have passed and, seeing the results, we wanted to let you know that this idea and how you are running the program is fantastic.
Our son Amit is an intelligent child, but he struggles with a number of learning difficulties. In the last two years, he stopped believing in himself and in Israel’s education system. Amit lost his center and his motivation; he would not study and was disruptive.
And then, we met Amit’s Youth Futures trustee, our ray of hope – Dudu. Knowing that the Youth Futures program was for “problem children,” our son did not want to participate. But with genuine thoughtfulness and understanding (something we had forgotten about, of late), Dudu gradually grew close to Amit.
Over time we began to hear Amit mention Dudu's name at home. He began to look up to him. If there was any problem at home, Amit would suggest we call Dudu. We knew that he must be a truly special individual to have gained Amit’s trust and admiration.
Despite his initial opposition, Amit became enthusiastic about his weekly afternoon sessions with Dudu. Amit’s teacher recently told us that he is doing better in school. His conduct has improved and, last week, Amit even received a grade of 80 on a literature exam (the fact that he took the test at all is quite an achievement). We attribute much of Amit’s improvement to the fact that Dudu is in his life now and we are very grateful for the program which really does offer youth a brighter future. We hope that other children are benefiting from this program as much as Amit.
Please accept our heartfelt thanks-- Michal and Yoram Kirshner