Naomi Meshasha with the girls she tutors

Translated by Nina Zuck

In the framework of ESRA’s students ‘Build a Neighborhood’ project, I am responsible for three 11 year old Ethiopian girls in the 5th grade, whom I tutor twice a week. The girls go to the neighborhood school and they all have learning and social difficulties.

As part of the project, I too came to live in their neighborhood which is a huge advantage as they see me in the area on a daily basis and I can be there for them whenever needed.

Officially, the girls come to me twice a week for three hours each time. I dedicate the first half hour to sharing in their experiences, successes and failures since our last meeting. I must emphasize that I have developed a close relationship with the girls, based on mutual trust and openness, which enables them to share their thoughts and feelings with me and to consult with me on the things that are important to them. After this half hour, we go on to doing homework together and practicing English, math and Hebrew, the subjects that are the basis for continuing their schooling and these being the most difficult for them. If we have time at the end of the lessons we play games, go to the library or do other educational activities.

In addition, I work with them on their social skills, building their self-confidence and independence. I can see these kids in another few years being able to cope with higher education and choosing their careers, thereby becoming role models for their families and community. As a member of the Ethiopian community and a student of law at the Netanya College, I myself am a role model for them, to prove that everything is possible and that you can progress even if you feel that you’re a step behind the rest.

I tutor the kids from the beginning of the year and I am their partner and confidante in their development and their difficulties.

Hefzibah in Netanya, the community in which I live and work, has a population which encounters difficulties on a daily basis, and cannot find their niche in the local Israeli society. The situation of the neighborhood and the fact that it consists almost entirely of Ethiopians, makes it very difficult for the inhabitants to acclimatize and integrate into the general population. The result is that they are left to themselves. Unfortunately the majority of the youth don’t participate in any afternoon framework, so they pass the time in the streets, forming gangs, taking out their frustration negatively in ways that are only harmful to them and their community.

Over the year, I feel that my acceptance and participation in the neighborhood is improving all the time. I feel the happiness of the community to see us students involved in what happens in the community, involved with helping their children in the afternoons, in all the ways that they, as parents cannot do because of their cultural and educational limitations.

However, we are only at the start of a process of growth and change in the community and a lot of hard work lies ahead. As we reach the end of the year, I am full of hope that we will attain the goals that fit the needs of this community through a deeper understanding of the families and the children. I hope this project will continue and grow to enable these children to reach their full potential.

I am so grateful for having been given the opportunity of joining this project, of helping in the development of the girls, of being their “big sister” and their address for all their needs. As much as I am giving, I feel that I am receiving just as much in return.

Naomi Meshasha is a first year student of law at the Netanya College.