Kiryat Shmona
Mahapach-Taghir’s Learning Community is located in Eshkol neighborhood of the city of Kiryat Shmona. Residents are comprised of mainly old migrants from the former USSR and North Africa, and it is characterized by large socio-economical gaps.
The Learning Community is comprised of 40 children (8-12 years old) and 25 students from Tel Hai College. In their work frame, the students guide and tutor the children, operate the “women’s café” for the women of the community, participate in community action days, participate in the steering committee meetings, plan community projects (in the framework of “Academy-community partnership”) and operate a community garden.
Studying in the learning community takes place 4 days a week from 4:00-9:00 p.m. Each day is dedicated to a different age of children: Sunday – fifth grade; Monday – third grade; Tuesday – second grade; Wednesday – fourth grade. On Tuesday, there is also activity in the community garden in collaboration with the organization “Megama Yeruka” from Tel Hai College. Each day there are 5-10 children, and each academic student tutors two kids. While one is tutored, the other participates in the group activity with the day coordinator. The last hour of activities is devoted to students’ meeting to summarize the day and to prepare the following activities. The substantive content of the activities are related to critical pedagogy.
In the area of youth activism, there is an emphasis on creating community projects and new initiatives and on leadership. However, there is not yet a stable and continuous youth group, partly because of the large number of other NGOs in Kiryat Shmona.
In addition, there is a Steering Committee in the community that is comprised of five women. They meet every two weeks and one of their biggest achievements to date is their active involvement in the public hearing during the Second Lebanese War, in which they voiced the point of view of the residents of their community. This was done in cooperation with Shatil. They also organized trips outside of the city to revitalize their spirits and keep the children stimulated and occupied.
The women’s group in the community meets once every two weeks and deals with more personal issues than the Steering Committee.
The Learning Communities in Kiryat Shmona is characterized mainly by a group of very active students that organized for social issues and cooperates with the residents to promote activism in the city. The community believes in cooperation with other organizations in the city in order to create a meaningful social force. Together, students, residents, and children produce community action days a few times a year.
If you would like to participate in any of our activities, you are welcome to contact the community coordinator, Naama Ayish, by phone at 0547608121 or by email at naamation@gmail.com.
News:
