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'BRITISH SPICE' TO NORTHERN COMMUNITIES: BRITISH YOUTH TEACH ENGLISH AT SUMMER CAMPS Twelve Bnei Akivaniks from Great Britain are helping youngsters along Israel's northern border learn English - and have a lot of fun doing it! Through the United Jewish Israel Appeal's Partnership 2000 program, the teenagers - who are spending post-high school year volunteering in Israel, before continuing their education -- have organized a highly successful "English Camp" -- in which over 200 children learned English in an informal and very enjoyable way. The English Camp opened with a spectacular Gala show featuring acts such as the Spice Guys, clowns, line dancing and much more - bringing a bit of British spice to the border. Shosh Mitchell one of the British leaders from Elstree, Hertfordshire explains: "Our aim for this camp was to teach as much English as we could in an informal non-classroom atmosphere, and I personally think we have achieved this very well" Each day of the English camp was themed around various topics such as nature, water, countries, England and sports - with emphasis on each day being given on vocabulary enforcement on each particular topic. Judith Erdos, a British leader from Newcastle comments: "The smiles on the children's faces, plus their eagerness to speak English with us, led to the realization of how rewarding and beneficial our work in the North of Israel is. It is so apparent what a difference we are making here; everyday the children learn new words in English and their confidence in speaking has increased tenfold." In order to prepare the volunteers for their work at the English Camp they participated in two hadracha [leadership] seminars, with a specific focus of teaching English as a foreign language. Sefton Bergson, the UJIA's representative in Northern Israel explains: "We sincerely hope that the training they had in Israel, together with all the practical leadership experience that they have now had, will enable them to return to the UK as excellent and experienced youth leaders." During the Camp the British volunteers were based in the Merom HaGalil regional council, where they lived with host families in a small Moshav called Biriyah close to Safed - there they all experienced the warm and hospitable nature of the people of the North of Israel. "I have the most amazing family" says Debra Fine from London "They have made me feel truly at home and I love spending time with them - they are certainly the most hospitable family I have ever met. I am sure that I will keep in touch with them for a long time to come." Stefan Kerner, Chairman of UJIA Partnership 2000 concludes: "The UJIA's Partnership 2000 program with the North of Israel aims to create a true, lasting and meaningful connection between the communities of Northern Israel and Anglo Jewry. It is programs such as this which allow us to achieve our aims - young people from Israel and England working together, not only developing their leadership skills but also producing a truly amazing end result for the benefit of the local community. All credit to the British leaders for organizing such an amazing English camp."
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