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150 YOUTH LEADERS FROM SOUTH AMERICA VOLUNTEER AT SUMMER CAMPS FOR ETHIOPIAN OLIM VOLUNTEERING - WITHIN JEWISH AGENCY ONE YEAR TRAINING COURSE IN 5 ABSORPTION REGIONS Some 150 youth leaders from South America who are in Israel on a year-long Jewish Agency hachsharah program are volunteering at a summer camp for Ethiopian youngsters this week. Some 1250 - 5 to 15 year olds are attending the camps, being held at Jewish Agency absorption centers all over the country. The youth leaders, aged 18-20, are now in their fifth month in Israel, participating in a professional training program at the Jewish Agency Jewish Zionist Education Department's Institute for Youth Leaders from Abroad (Machon LeMadrichei Hutz La'Aretz). During the year, the youth leaders volunteer for several weeks of practical community work in preparation for their future role in their own communities. The community involvement in the summer camps began last year on an experimental basis, with 35 leaders working at the Givat Hamatos absorption site. This year, due to the success of the project, the program has been expanded and includes 5 different absorption centers: Givat Hamatos, Mevasseret Zion, BeerSheva, Ashkelon and Kiryat Gat. Several dozen Israeli youth leaders are working alongside those from South America. During their stay in Israel, the leaders improve their Hebrew, take courses at the youth leadership training seminar and participate in voluntary activity on kibbutzim and moshavim around the country, according to the ideology of the different youth movements. When their year ends, the leaders return to their countries of origin where they coordinate activity in their youth movements. Jaimie Fox-Bar, director of the Leadership Institute: "The fact that the leaders have come to Israel at this time is particularly commendable. They were not put off by the situation and came to realize their desire to strengthen Jewish education worldwide and in Israel".
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