The Children Of Sderot Journal
Masha Bresner: Camp for Children of Sderot; How We Did It [Sep 1st, 2008]
 I am going to be 100% honest with you. The six Americans who took part in the first RJCF camp for the children of Sderot were shocked. We had all worked extensively with children before, but these kids were unlike any we had ever encountered. We had all spent our summers at camp RSM (Russian School of Mathematics) at Sunapee first as campers and then as counselors.  This past August, the Russian Jewish Community of Boston raised enough money to found a camp in Israel for the children of Sderot. The six American counsellors, Rimma Pivovarov, Masha Bresner, Liz Rapoport, Michael Wolfson,Vicky Berdichevsky, and Masha Rifkin, who would be the representatives of the community, each raised 2000 dollars before our departure to Israel. We decided that the camp we would be starting in Israel would be similar to the New Hampshire camp we were used to. We would teach them English and math, we would take them on outings with the Israeli Counselors who had spent the year leading children's trips through the Israeli wilderness, we would do our best give them a normal life away from the constant barrage of rocket fire that defined their days in Sderot.Read More... |
Letter from the Counselors of Camp ’08 [Aug 1st, 2008]
Equally excited are our counselors of this first summer camp. To become a counselor in Sderot camp is a privilege. Young people had not only have special training; they also had to pay their airfare to Israel and for their upkeep there. For that they had to raise money, that is, to advocate for this project and convince people to donate money especially for their trip to Israel. They had to bring the ideas for entertaining and educating Israeli kids. Here is the letter from our counselors to Russian Jewish Community: Read More... |
Very soon first group of children will come to the summer camp in "Yaar Lavi" in the forests of Golan. This project is being implemented in partnership with the Israeli organization Green Horizons that specializes in outdoor activities for children. The kids will be living in the tents, participate in all kinds of activities that young counselors from Massachusetts thought up for them. The idea of the camp is so popular that our volunteers in Sderot get lots of calls from parents wanting to sign up their kids for this camp.July'08 update
Letter from Rinat (רינת אלון) Hello Masha,  How are you? Over here the weather is hot and the preparations for the camp are going into high gear...Last week Natasha, Sveta and I had a very nice (although wearying) day driving to the north to check the camp site- "YAAR LAVI". We were worried about so many things but as soon as we got there we felt like it`s a wonderful place, and very suitable for our needs. The staff over there was so welcoming and helpful, and the facilities are in a really good shape. I`m attaching a file with some pictures and explanations for you. Read More... |
Masha Rifkin Reports To Russian Jewish Community from Sderot
 Dear Everyone,This past month I finally made my way back to Sderot! I had been anxiously waiting for my return trip and practically sprinted off the plane to meet Natasha in Ben Gurion Airport. I have to admit that amidst my utter happiness at being back in the city I had grown to love, there was definitely some negativity. I was scared. Actually tangibly scared. It probably didn’t help that as soon as I stepped outside of the airport security rushed me back inside, citing a ‘high security alert’. I never did find out what was going on. Nevertheless – during the four months I spent studying in Israel and practically living in Sderot, I was scared sure – but it was almost muffled. I couldn’t feel it, it didn’t affect me, I just knew that it was there somewhere. Read More... |
Irina Shakhnovich Hosted a Fundraiser for the Children of Sderot Fund
 On Sunday, June 29th, Irina Shakhnovich hosted a fundraiser for the Children of Sderot Fund at the home of her parents, Eugene and Marsha Shakhnovich in Lexington. Sharon Davidovich of the Jewish National Fund, Ary Rotman, President of RJCF, Mila Magitsky, Alex Fridman, along with friends, co-workers and family attended the event to raise awareness and donate funds to send 50 kids to camp during their summer and Channukah vacation. Irina's efforts helped bring us closer to our goal of raising $75,000 and we thank her and everyone whom she inspired to help.Read More... |
[February 14, 2008] Report by Baruch Yussin
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[January 28, 2008] Greg Margolin: Ich Bin Ein Sderoter
"In other places people meet their guests with hot, freshly baked bread. In Sderot, it is Kassams. That day they dropped in excess of 55 Kassams on the city..." Read More... |
[December 08, 2007] Inna Rifkin: Our visit to Sderot
 As many of you know Victor and I were in Israel just before the ball. It was a private trip of course, but out of our 12 day visit to the country we spent 5 days in Sderot. While in Sderot we stayed with Natasha Panaitova, the social worker who runs the Children of Sderot project in Israel.Read More... |
[April, 2007] The beginning of the Children of Sderot project
In January 2007 Masha Rifkin, a junior at Cornell University, began her semester abroad in Israel. It was through her search for a summer internship that she met David Bedein of the Israeli Resource News Agency. She began her internship for Bedein immediately and through his stories first became acquainted with the city of Sderot. Read More... |
