On Sunday afternoon, I headed directly to Ofek for my first night of volunteering. Ofek is the local security unit of Netivot; crime has dropped by 30-40% since its inception. Gabby and I will be working the Sunday afternoon shift from 3-11 and Tuesday mornings from 7-2. Our first night at the Ofek headquarters went like this: quick introduction of the security computers and then being left there for the remaining 7hrs while the men did their runs of the city. By 8pm, the entire town was dead as in no cars or people on the streets. I guess I should be thankful that the town is so safe. Tuesday was a lot more eventful. We got further training of the security system, got to witness a possible bomb threat, went on a few runs around town and the day ended with off roading in the Netivot Forrest. I can't wait to go back on Sunday.
(Quality Ofek time with the guys)
As part of my 40 hrs of volunteering, I also work at the Women's Center and the Robert Saligman Early Childhood Development Center located in Sdot Negev Region. I am in love with both of the sites! The Women's Center is an elderly daycare for women who are high functioning; the main goal is on education. Some of the daily activities that the women can partake in include: torah lessons, English classes, aerobics and dance therapy, as well as computer classes. Gabby and I volunteer at the center from 9-12:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays. Our main task is to organize activities that will help the women improve their English such as Family Tree Building for T'Buishvat. Best moment at the center so far: waltzing with one of the women during dance therapy!
( The women from the center during dance therapy/sports)
I volunteer at the Saligman Center two afternoons a week with Derek and Rachel. Between the hours of 2:45-5:45, we tutor children in English. This is actually more difficult than it looks. My first student on my first day came to me with an English grammar lesson I couldn't explain in English, let alone, in Hebrew. Certain verb tenses just sound right within the sentence. Thankfully, this was the hardest lesson I encountered all week. On Wednesday, I received a two page letter from one of the students documenting what I should work on each week; included in this letter was an invitation to have Shabbat Dinner on his Kibbutz. Only in Israel would someone you have NEVER met invite you to their home for a meal and accommodation. Did I mention this was my second invite of the day? I was also invited by Shulah, one of my students at the women's center, for some homemade couscous at her home on Shabbat. One of my favorite things about Israel: the never ending hospitality.
(Derek with some of his students at Saligman)
Alas the week is finally over and Shabbat will be here tomorrow. I am looking forward to the peace and quiet and the home cooked meals that accompany the Sabbath Queen. Shabbat Shalom
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