Keren Hanan Aynor - Newsletter 9

April 2017, KHA Newsletter- Vol. 9 הרשמה לרשימת התפוצה בעברית

Dear Friends, Alumni and Supporters,

The staff, board members, students and volunteers at Keren Hanan Aynor would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Passover - may this Springtime be filled with health, joy, renewal, learning and growth.

Did you know that…?

70% of our scholarship recipients are women?
96% of our scholarship recipients are Ethiopian born
85% of our scholarship recipients are parents?
59 % of our scholarship recipients are studying a bachelor's degree
26% of our scholarship recipients are studying a master's degree
13% of our scholarship recipients are studying in a certificate program or other professional program
38% of our scholarship recipients are in the education/teaching certificate/ social work fields
17% of our scholarship recipients studied the social sciences/humanities
12% of our scholarship recipients studied medicine/nursing
96% of our scholarship recipients are currently employed

Our dropout rates are significantly lower than the national dropout rates amongst students in institutions of academic study throughout the country

Passover in Israel and around the globe is a time of renewal, growth and freedom. It is in that spirit that that staff, board members and students at Keren Hanan Aynor are proud to announce our new partnership with Friends of Ethiopian Jews! FEJ has taken us under their wing and this exciting new venture is a stepping stone as we become recognized amongst six wonderfully dedicated Ethiopian Israeli organizations working to create full integration and successful absorption in Israel for the Ethiopian Jewish community.

Friends of Ethiopian Jews, Inc. (FEJ) is a well known and respected organization that supports programs and projects led by Ethiopian-Israelis themselves and strives to empower the community, to help improve opportunities for Ethiopian-Israelis and to help create a just society in Israel overall.

Please honour our new partnership by making a generous donation today to help motivated and talented Ethiopian Israeli students live their dreams of achieving an academic degree and becoming leaders in their community and in Israeli society as a whole!

To donate in North America, try our new donate now opportunity with
FEJ at : https://www.friendsofethiopianjews.org/donate/
A tax deductible receipt will be issued.

Celebrating a birthday, anniversary, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, graduation or other special occasion? Consider giving the gift of education in honour of a relative or dear friend to a talented and highly motivated Ethiopian Israeli student.
For just $84/month for twelve months, you can donate a scholarship to help support one student reach their dreams of achieving an academic degree! Contact Amy at office@kerenaynor.org.il for more details or click now on the link below.

"Anything is possible!"
An Interview with Rachel Meshashe

Rachel began sharing her childhood story slowly and tentatively as if she was not certain where her telling would lead...Then suddenly, as though she found her footing, she began sharing more excitedly, allowing the words to flow out of her compassionately and energetically. Rachel's family had made Aliya to Israel at the end of 1984 with Operation Moshe. She is the second to last in a family of seven children. Other than one uncle who remained back in Ethiopia, the entire family made Aliya at the time, living out a lifelong dream. Rachel was born in the seaside city of Hadera in Central Israel and shares fondly with me memories of what she describes as a very happy childhood. She recalls playing outdoors a lot and rescuing the street kittens in the neighbourhood – playing with them and feeding them. One of her strongest memories was planning activities for the younger kids in the neighborhood and spending hours enjoying the fun together.
When Rachel was 14 years old, the first cohort of the Israeli scouts began organising activities in Hadera. Rachel became very active with this new venture and just two years later was a youth counselor for younger children in the same group. She excitedly recalls that "this was the first moment I realized that something clicked for me and I became interested in studying education"
Following her army service in the security offices at the Kiriya in Tel Aviv, Rachel decided to work for one year before studying to "find her way, her path for the future". During this time, she learned to drive and explored various avenues of study. She began studying human resources in Emek Israel and after one short semester, realized it was not for her and left the program. She never looked back! Soon after, Rachel registered at the Lewinsky College and studied early childhood education to become a nursery school teacher. This change in study suited her well. She met new people and worked on a freelance basis as a teacher in an elementary school, as well as a facilitator in an after school enrichment club. Then she became a registered nursery school teacher through the Ministry of Education in her fourth year of study. At that time, she felt a strong connection between her ongoing love of animals and work with children and decided to combine the two at the Seminar Hakibbutzim.
When Rachel first approached Keren Hanan Aynor for assistance with her studies, she was turned down, however, she did not back down and lose hope. The second time she applied, she was accepted and feels gratitude and appreciation for the support and love she receives. She claims it has really been an incentive to follow her dreams! Rachel knows that her studies and her current work are the right place for her to be. She currently works with adults with developmental delays using animals in a therapeutic way. Additionally, she works with at risk youth in private therapeutic settings and states passionately that her work with animal therapy in these complex settings is a catalyst for challenging feelings that may not otherwise arise and find their place. Rachel claims that her work with such populations is giving them important tools for their future, which is something very positive. For Rachel, it is about reaching their souls – deep places within them in suffering in pain. She feels confident she is doing good work and as she tells her story, I become confident as well.
Rachel pauses and then returns to her family and childhood… "I have an educational family", she explains, telling of her siblings and their involvement with various formal and informal educational positions. "My parents were always very supportive of my dreams and gave me the message that I could succeed". Now when she returns home to her neighbourhood, she does so with her head held high, a role model for future generations of young Ethiopian girls with a dream to study and make a difference!

Keren Aynor is proud to call Rachel one of our beloved trail blazers this year – the first to study animal therapy and to really make a difference in her field. In her modest, yet energetic way, Rachel is truly following her dreams and changing the lives of those children and adults with whom she works. As she told me: "anything is possible!" Indeed it is!

April 2017, KHA Newsletter- Vol.9 הרשמה לרשימת התפוצה בעברית

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Help us start this Spring with your support. Please make a tax-deductible gift today.

April 2017, KHA Newsletter- Vol.9 הרשמה לרשימת התפוצה בעברית

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What Else is happening at Keren Hanan Aynor?

Expanding the Alumni Database!
New streamlined fully-online application process
Student/Alumni Web Forum
Expansion of Partnership with Start-Up L’Hatzlacha
New Facebook page! LIKE us on Facebook!

Statistics

According to the 2015 Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics Report, in 2014 there were 2,774 Ethiopian- Israelis enrolled in higher education as compared to 331,650 among the general population. This represented 9% of the Ethiopian Israeli 20-29 population as compared to 24.7% of the general population.
The median age for an Ethiopian student studying for a first degree is slightly higher, 26.5, than among the general population at 25.5.
In the past 22 years, Keren Hanan Aynor has helped to close this education gap by distributing more than 3,000 scholarships and supporting more than 1,500 students
From 2012-2014, Keren Hanan Aynor supported 160 students among which 66% were raising families while pursuing their degree, and 16% of whom were single parents.
In the past 5 years, over 95% of Keren Hanan Aynor students have successfully completed the academic year.
In the past 7 years, Keren Hanan Aynor has turned away an average of 51% of qualified applicants due to lack of funds.

Seeking Volunteers

Website and Social Networking Help
Alumni Coordinator
Social Event Planning
Flexible hours with option to help us from home!

Thanks to Our Partners:

The Kennedy Leigh Charitable Trust, UK

Young Israel of West Hempstead

To Save a Life Foundation

Paul and Pearl Caslow Foundation

Private Donors

Seeking Volunteers

Website and Social Networking Help
Alumni Coordinator
Social Event Planning
Flexible hours with option to help us from home!

“If it were not for the scholarship which Keren Hanan Aynor provided me, I would not have been able to fulfill my dream of studying and completing a degree. You convinced me that there are good people out there, and I promise you that I will always continue to study and to learn”

- Keren Wanda, Mother of 3, BA Social Work

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- Keren Wanda, Mother of 3, BA Social Work

Newsletter 9 - April 2017