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Building for a better future – check out the new student village in Sderot

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October 8, 2014

Sukkot is all about houses, and having a sense of place, even when you’re far away from home. On this Sukkot, I am proud to tell you a story I recently heard, of a new form of housing that is currently forming in the Israeli city of Sderot:


After over a decade of living under constant rocket attacks from Gaza, the Israeli city of Sderot has become a place most people prefer supporting from afar. With many young people leaving and economy weakening, it became clear that something needs to be done in order to bring a drift of fresh air into the city. That’s when the *Ayalim foundation stepped in, with their most ambitious project so far – a student village at the heart of Sderot.

 

On August 10, during operation Protective Edge, the Prime Minister’s Office announced the establishment of Sderot’s new student village, at the cost 50 million shekels. The village will consist of 150 apartments built out of abandoned buildings and shipping containers for 300 students attending Sapir College there. In return for housing, the students will have to give 10 weekly hours of their time to volunteer in the local community. 

 

The project, a joint initiative of the Israeli government and Ayalim foundation, is aimed to strengthen the local economy, boost social welfare, and bring back young people to balance Sderot’s disproportionately elderly population following the many years of rockets raining down on the city. Later this month, the students will move to their new Sderot residence and give new hope to the beaten city, boosting it with youthful energy, while sending a strong message to those who seek to destroy our country: We will not break – we will build!

(A demonstration of the finished project. Courtesy of Ayalim)

 

In the past three months, 1,000 volunteers, including some of the students who are about to live there, “Shin Shin” (Shnat Sherut – National Service) teens and a group of Reform Rabbis from the U.S., participated in building the village. Standing strong in front of Hamas, they continued to build even as thousands of rockets were launched at the city.

 

One of the volunteers, 18 year old Livnat, told Israelife: “During the war, there was a feeling of pride, mostly. We worked under fire, literally, and even though Hamas tried to weaken us – the opposite happened. I was, and still am, proud to be here and build, sending a message that now terror organization can bring us down or tell us this country is not ours.”  Ido, another volunteer, told me he was a bit scared to be there during the war, but the feeling of satisfaction overcame the fear: “When the rocket-alert siren was heard, we ran to the shelters and it was a bit scary for all of us, but the goal was more important than anything else. We knew this village must be built, and we are still working hard in order to have it done by the end of the month.”

 

Effy Rubin, the Head of Partnership Development at Ayalim: “Even during the war, we stayed in Sderot and continued building. We are racing against time in order to open the village for students at the beginning of their school year, so we couldn’t allow ourselves putting down our tools. In less than four months we built an entire village, which is quite amazing. What made it happen was our volunteers’ work ethics and us seeing our goal in front of our eyes – bringing young, educated Israelis in our country’s less desired areas, helping them connect to the land and have a sense of place. We want to give those areas an energy boost from young people who would move there. We also believe that by taking part in building their place of residence and taking an active part in rebuilding the city and helping the community, they would want to continue living there, even after their school years are over.”

 

In the past 13 years, the people of Sderot spent their days and nights running for shelter, with only 15 seconds to run for shelter during the tseva adom “code red” rocket alert. Always restless, always alert. With the hopes that this time around the cease-fire agreement would last and with a positive view towards the future, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi, said: “Founding a student village in Sderot is great news for the city. It is the first forward-looking step in our strategic plan to transform Sderot into a student city in addition to providing affordable housing for our young people, and of course to hundreds of students who study at Sapir College.”

 

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