Cardin School Updates

Community Service in Ashkelon - December 26, 2006

On the night of December 26, we were greeted in Ashkelon by our peers from Ort Afridar, our partner school in Israel. The teens, a few of their teachers, and several representatives joyfully welcomed us to their beautiful city. After a hefty dinner, we spent the night in the teens’ houses, and the next morning we went with them to school. To our surprise, Ort Afridar was huge! We took a quick tour around (even though it was a bit rainy) and were treated to an assembly led by several students. Following yet another schnitzel lunch, we broke up into two groups for our community service projects; one group remained in Ashkelon while the other traveled to the nearby Ashdod. We were told that we were going to volunteer with children who come from broken households and were now living in a type of foster home.

When we arrived at Neve HaRoeh, we were a little nervous, not knowing exactly what to expect. The manager of the home told us that these were extremely sensitive kids, and that we should keep that in mind while we were working with them. He went on to explain the nature of the residential center. Unlike normal foster homes, this place created “families” of about 12, each with their own suite of rooms in the complex. In each family the kids, from toddlers to teens, could live a normal family life with a young married couple serving as their parents. Groups of approximately five Baltimore and Ashkelon students were assigned to each family and sent along to go play and generally interact with the kids.

The experience working with Israeli children was fascinating. Each family openly welcomed us into their homes. Even though the language barrier was present, it was not unconquerable. Using our various levels of Hebrew, we managed to lead the families in several art activities and help several kids with their homework in both math and English. Together, we enjoyed dinner (more schnitzel!) and lunch, and, in Ashkelon at least, enjoyed an amazing break-dancing program during the evening. Since kids from the age of preschool through high school all lived together in the families, we had the opportunity to have a variety of interactions. With the younger ones, we simply brightened up their day by playing games with them and showing them that there are people who care for them. The teens we talked with were glad to be able to encounter teens from America and learn a little more English. After a while, we forgot that this was a residential home for foster children and not simply apartments for large, diverse families. It was inspiring to observe how these families supported each other like a normal family would, and how they were now treating us like friends that they had known forever.

Our big project at Neve HaRoeh, however, was creating large pictures of musical instruments in order to decorate the then visually uninviting music/activity room. In order to meet this goal, we first outlined drawings made of the instruments, and then along with the kids, colored in those pictures with bright pastels. After our day and a half of work, we managed to create around a dozen large, colorful pictures of musical instruments that we presented to the entire home. The manager of Neve HaRoeh was so pleased with our work that he thanked us profusely and requested that the next time we are in Israel, that we return to further help at the residential center.

Even though it was raining for most of the time, overall our experience in Ashkelon was wonderful. The city’s hospitality is tremendous; every place we went, including Ort Afridar and our home hospitalities, we were welcomed in graciously. However, what I found even more touching than the friendliness of the city (and this is something I love), was the volunteering with these children. Once finished the days of volunteering, both the Americans and the Israelis were in agreement that the homes were awe inspiring, and that, for the most part, we enjoyed the activity as much as, if not more than, the kids themselves.

- Johanna Schein