"One Year of Life for Coexistence" is a unique and extraordinary program which copes with the most fundamental level of the Middle Eastern conflict. Jewish and Arab high school graduates serve as volunteers, dedicating a year of life to communal living and educational work. They plan and implement activities for Reut-Sadaka youth, organize community projects and live the ideals of coexistence in their daily lives. While sharing a communal apartment, these young leaders combine their income from part-time jobs. They cook, eat, clean, work on Reut-Sadaka projects and spend free-time together. This program allows the participants to transmit their ideas, which have been strengthened by personal everyday experience, to other youth throughout the country. The One Year of Life volunteers facilitate weekly meetings of mixed Jewish-Arab youth groups, give talks in Arab and Jewish high schools throughout the country, plan and implement weekend trips and seminars, and organize activities in mixed Arab-Jewish communities.
Purpose of the Project
1) Many of the Re'ut-Sadaka group leaders are busy university students who can devote one or two evenings every week to facilitate the weekly meetings of the youth groups. This team of university students do extremely valuable work for the movement but they often have a limited amount of time for Reut-Sadaka activities. The One Year of Life for Coexistence team of volunteers is a stable group with a high degree of dedication to the movement, its ideas and activities. They are absolutely vital to the movement.
2) Every youngster in Re'ut-Sadaka youth groups who participates in the activities for one, two or three years during high school must face a decision. He or she may think: "Well, we talked a lot about Jewish-Arab coexistence and cooperation. I am convinced that it is absolutely necessary. What can I personally do about it? How can I realize my ideology?" Many of these young people join social activities in their communities but only a persistent few choose to devote a year to full time intensive activity to educate others about peaceful coexistence and cooperation between the Jewish and Arab communities living in Israel. They teach other youth to strive to overcome the barriers of enmity, prejudice, and suspicion that exist between the Jews, Muslims and Christians of Israel. The "One Year of Life for Coexistence" project supplies an efficient frame for these enthusiastic young people to accomplish their goal of bringing together Jewish, Muslim and Christian youth and training them for a life of coexistence for the benefit of all. At the same time, these young activists fulfill many of the organization's needs.
3) The message of the "One Year of Life for Coexistence" volunteers is powerful as it is coming from the personal experience of young people. When these volunteers communicate with their peers, they are speaking about their deepest convictions, which they live out day to day. These young leaders offer a personal example of actualizing a culture of peace.
The Project's Participants
Any Jewish, Muslim or Christian teenager who is interested in the year of service can turn to the organization in the beginning of 12th grade to express interest. Most of the applicants are members of the Reut-Sadaka movement itself, but some have no experience or prior education in Jewish-Arab coexistence. After a series of interviews with the educational experts of the movement, the first selection of nominees is made and these nominees are invited to a weekend seminar in the middle of the school year. After that, monthly weekend seminars are held for the would-be participants of the project in which they learn more about the project and undergo a team-building process led by the movement's experts. The final selection of the participants is made during the summer. The remaining nominees join the movement's summer activities. One week before the end of the summer, the selected team goes through a week-long group leaders' seminar in which they are taught basic skills for the best possible fulfillment of the job they are setting out to do during their year of service.
The Team and Its Schedule
The team is based in a rented apartment in Haifa, a city in northern Israel with a mixed Arab and Jewish population The project's volunteers are required to work three days a week to help cover their living expenses. The rest of their time is dedicated to activity for the organization. This activity includes educational, organizational, and administrative work. Once in a fortnight they go home to their families. Since their responsibilities include traveling throughout the country, participants are provided with a national bus pass. The organization also covers 50% of the participant's health insurance and food when traveling "on the job."
The "One Year of Life" program participants move into the apartment on September 1st. During the first week the new team is introduced to their jobs by the outgoing team. The first period can be quite challenging for these youth as most are living away from their homes and families for the first time and simultaneously taking on a heavy responsibility. They lead groups of youth who are not much younger than themselves, they organize programs for 60-100, and they are asked to speak to others about their core ideologies. The Project Manager assists the team members through this process and helps the participants to work out professional, personal and social problems that arise during the year. The Educational Coordinator runs a weekly educational program for the volunteers and provides ongoing educational guidance.
During the past year the team's members met with and talked to about 5000 high school students in 30 different schools. In addition, the team reached about 1000 more youngsters through meetings in social centers and other youth organizations' clubs. Finally, leaflets were distributed to young folks at festivals. These efforts result in new membership at Reut-Sadaka with a commitment to an extended educational process, which prepares them to live in a multicultural, democratic, non-violent society.
For more information, please contact:
Contact: Reut@inter.net.il