BA in Social Work, Bar Ilan University
Meet Meir Melaku, a soon to be 3rd year student of social work at Bar Ilan University, and a father of 3! Meir’s journey began in Ethiopia in a village called Ambover. As did many of the Jewish community, Meir’s family worked in agriculture, and by the age of 7, he was already at work. At 9 year’s of age, Meir’s family decided to make aliyah, and they sold all of their animals and land, bought a horse, donkey, dried food, and prepared to make the dangerous journey to Israel via Sudan. Together their group number about 300 and included Meir’s immediate family, cousins, grandparents, and neighbors.
Meir’s family walked in the dark of night for 2 weeks on foot. Throughout their journey they encountered dangers and were the victims of four robberies in just two weeks. When they arrived in Sudan, they mistakenly believed that better conditions awaited them. What they found instead was an overcrowded disease ridden refugee camp. Amongst the thousands of Jews who died there were Meir’s 3 month old sister as well as his young cousin with whom he had journeyed hand in hand through Sudan.
Meir’s father decided that it wasn’t healthy to remain in the camp, so they headed to the city. Life was hard as they did not speak the language and they subsisted on legumes and bread. Throughout this time what kept the family going was the heartfelt belief and deep rooted faith that ultimately they would reach Jerusalem. In October of 1984, Meir at the age of 11.5, along with part of his family (the other half came about 6 months later) finally came to Israel as part of Operation Moses. Upon arrival, he was located in an absorption center in Ashkelon and it took many months for his entire family to be reconnected.
When Meir arrived in Israel he did not know how to read or write in any language. He found himself in a program which was helping Ethiopians to become auto mechanics, a field which didn’t interest him. While he did complete 12 years of schooling, he did not complete matriculation exams, and it didn’t occur to him to pursue higher education. It was only when he entered the army and encountered other young people with dreams, visions, and goals for the future that Meir began thinking of an advanced degree.
At the age of 24, Meir spent two years completing all of his matriculation exams, and at the age of 28, he began studies for his BA in Education. Following the completion of his studies, Meir began working with youth at risk, and despite already having a degree, Meir reached the conclusion that in order to better understand how the youth with whom he worked reached this point, he needed to pursue a degree in social work.
Meir recently completed his second year of studies at Bar Ilan University, and is eagerly anticipating the start of his final year of studies.
