Before coming to Israel with Israel Service Corps, none of the volunteer work I had done involved working with people. I felt more comfortable completing tasks and doing physical work, such as Habitat for Humanity and the like.
But when I came to spend five months of my life volunteering in Ramla, Israel, I quickly realized that seeing the smiling faces of those I help is much more rewarding.
Before any of the other volunteers in the group had even decided where, when, and how to volunteer their time, a fellow ISC participant named Jay and I found ourselves knee deep in our first adventure.
It seemed that our leisurely enjoyment of playing soccer with local kids down the street from our communal house had sparked some interest. Soon Jay and I had been invited to an Ethiopian neighborhood in Ramla, where kids spend their free time simply looking for things to keep them busy and out of trouble.
So Chava, our go-to-woman in Ramla (and the most beautiful grandmother in Israel) whose office is right in this area, sat down with the two of us to discuss a vision.
After sitting for some time shooting ideas back and forth, we decided that Jay and I would start a soccer club for boys aged 8-13. But not just any soccer club; we wanted to use the game as a gateway to forming a strong bond between these boys and their community.
It became our dream that the boys in our group become leaders among their peers, and gain the understanding that they not only control their lives but they can positively influence the lives of others.
We hoped that these ideas would help shape these young Ethiopian boys into great role models in their community and establish a strong sense of unity among them.
Building trust
Our first step was to recruit our squad. Our ultimate mission was to make them feel that soccer time was more than just a time to play the game but also a way to come together twice a week to hang out and form deep connections.
At first, things were a little rough. It was hard to find boys excited to come. Many of them were confused about our role. So we told them that we were living in Ramla and would come every week to see them. They liked the sound of that and soon we were on our way.
We managed to build a group of about 15-20 boys, with around 10-12 showing up every week to hang out and play. But because they spoke almost no English and we spoke very little Hebrew, communication was difficult.
To help us cross the language barrier, we got the help of an Israeli Scout (Israeli volunteers living in cities all over the country for a year before their mandatory military service) named Amitai.
Once he started to come, we were able to run practice drills before playing, teach them English words related to soccer and play fun games. We even hung out in some of their families’ apartments and watched soccer DVDs, movies, and had pizza parties.
Sometimes after playing soccer we would stay with the boys. I felt as though we became their role models, people they could count on to be there to play with. Our perspective changed also. We soon saw them as more than just a project, but as our friends.
I often noticed other boys wearing nice soccer uniforms as they walked to practice and wondered why our boys were not part of this. After a little investigative work I found out that the boys who play with organized teams pay a little over $1,000 for uniforms, practices and games. For Israel, that is a lot of money.
I became even more committed to this group afterward, knowing that we were able to provide soccer to these children whose parents could not afford it otherwise.
But the best part may have been how we finished our time with the boys — we added color to their neighborhood.
Located right in the middle of a tight group of apartment buildings and surrounded by graffiti-littered walls, our playing field was a cement rectangle with two metal goals, no nets, not even complete goal frames actually.
After several discussions and brainstorming sessions, we arranged for an artist to come to help us paint a mural on the main wall next to the “court”. The result was nothing short of a miracle.
The boys showed up excited to paint the wall with the artist and many neighbors came down to see what was going on. Some came right up to the wall to see the work, while others stood behind the fence and looked on in awe.
After about 15 hours of work, the result was stunning. The kids completed the main colors covering the large areas of the wall, and the artist crafted the finishing touches to make it look professional.
Since the completion of the mural, not a single person has dared to deface it in any way — not even with a single letter of graffiti. All the residents nearby claim it as “theirs” and are simply too proud of its beauty. It brings a new sense of light and hope to the area. It is now a place where people can look and be proud of where they live.
And every time our boys walk by, even if it is to show their own future children, they will be able to smile and say, “I helped make that gorgeous wall.” I feel privileged that I was there to help create those smiles.
Milwaukeean Ben Shimon graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2006 with a double major in marketing and entrepreneurship. He recently returned from five months in Israel and is planning to travel to Europe and South America.
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