Programs: Leadership Development
Amintey HENRY (Henry’s Fellows)
Unlike children raised in a regular home, the children of Yemin Orde are not exposed to the trades, skills and professions of their family: exposure which, in one way or another, shapes a child’s understanding of the world and the choices s/he makes in life. Amitey Henry compensates for this within the parameters of the Village. Staff from different professions within Yemin Orde - bookkeepers, the nurse, maintenance staff, computer technicians, social workers, security personnel, etc - are trained to work on a weekly basis with a group of children of all ages and backgrounds from each children’s house, introducing the children to his/her profession or vocation, and training them a little in their own type of work. In turn, the children work in those capacities within the children’s houses. For example, those children who work with security personnel are in charge of the fire extinguishers and emergency regulations; those who work with the nurse are in charge of first aid.
Named in honor of noted philanthropist Henry Everett z"l, the Amitey Henry Program helps all the children who participate by enhancing self-esteem, broadening their general knowledge about different fields of expertise, and expanding their conception of possible future career choices.
Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel
In cooperation with the Baltimore Jewish Council, the Elijah Cummings Youth Program gives ten 12th grade students who reside or attend school in the Congressman Cumming’s District in Baltimore, Maryland the opportunity to visit Israel for four weeks. Based at Yemin Orde, participants engage in activities such as visits to a kibbutz, working on a joint project with Arab and Israeli teens, spending time with host families and attending educational seminars and tours. In this way, African Americans from an inner-city area of Baltimore are exposed to the diversity of modern Israeli life.
As Yemin Orde is the home base, students from Yemin Orde (primarily Ethiopian) also participate in the program with the American students, Ethiopian Jewish heritage is presented to African Americans as part of their introduction to Israel and Judaism. Through this program, Yemin Orde students and Baltimore students develop leadership, cooperative and interpersonal skills - and deep and lasting friendships.
Teens for Tzedek Program
Sponsored by the Frieze Family Foundation and developed in cooperation with the JCCs of Greater Boston and the Boston JCRC, the Teens for Tzedek Program brings together 11th and 12th graders from Haifa, Boston and Yemin Orde. Students spend four weeks during the summer at Yemin Orde working on community service and social justice programs, and then two weeks in Boston and New York continuing their community service work. While in the USA, students attend workshops and tours and explore the themes of immigration, cooperation and tikkun olam (repairing the world).
The Teens for Tzedek program gives children from diverse cultures in Israel and Boston the opportunity to explore Israel-American Jewish relations, religious pluralism in Israel and America, Arab-Jewish relations and issues related to diversity and immigration.