Date: 17-22 February 2013
Venue: Acre, Israel
Programme: EuroMED Youth
Pax: Barbora Cinádrová
Project report:
A week in the Middle East, a week in a place of many cultures, traditions and religions clash. One of the best week of my life in sunny Israel.
Yes, the project in the oldest city in Israel (at least as the locals said) Acre is and always will be unforgettable. I have been back home for one month and I am still full of impressions. The topic is very strong, so the work and activities such as the example: seminars and lectures on the problem of integrating people with special needs into society, visit these centers for disadvantaged and then also the actual contact with these people, were very interesting and rewarding.
Meeting of representatives of European countries from Romania, Italy, Slovenia, Portugal and the Czech Republic with people representing organizations from Israel aimed to create several projects to help and gradual solve integration of people with special needs into employment. This task is a problem for the whole planet. Really alarming is currently in Israel, where part of the disadvantaged takes around 20% of population. Non-profit organization Kivunim – organizer of the project extensively works on this issue and her results are amazing. Making contact with these people and the approach to this issue became very useful and motivating for me. For the whole week, came three concepts of joint projects, which need to work a lot. However, much more valuable are establishment and subsequent keeping of contact with partner organizations and the exchange of views, ideas, comments on the topics related to the work and to the help for people with special needs.
The program of the project was quite busy. Despite the hard concentration in early spring by the sea and work on assigned tasks, we also had several opportunities to visit Haifa, Nazareth and Tel Aviv – which was great! By the time, the group became more and more open and the atmosphere was just friendly. I think, it was caused by a great discovery right from the first day of the meeting. Favorite thing of all participants – food. Culture dining and gastronomy in Israel is something unparalleled. We have never had a hunger – the opposite! Without local falafels, pita bread and humus we could not imagine a single day.
The whole stay I feel like a big event, for which I am extremely grateful. No wasting of time and pause over things that should be a red light to the world – these are important things for a young people that I receive from similar actions. This experience gave me much more. Surpassed all my expectations, prejudices swept away and gave new goals. Thank you
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
(an old African Proverb)
Barbora Cinádrová
