Amidst a beautiful forest in the western Galilee in Israel, between Kibbutz Harduf and the Bedouin village Ka’abiyye, lies the Harduf Project TEN Center. Co-directed by a Jewish woman and a Muslim man, the center emphasizes the values of coexistence between the local Jewish and Bedouin Arab populations.
Participants at the center volunteer once a week at Beit Elisha, a group home at Kibbutz Harduf that houses adults with special needs, disabilities, and behavioral and social difficulties. Volunteers also work weekly at Sha’ar La’adam, the kibbutz’s international center for educational, ecological and faith-related activities that grapple with the complicated notion of coexistence between Jewish and Arab communities in the Galilee through the creation of a shared Jewish-Arab culture. Additionally, three days a week, these volunteers tutor young students in English at the local Bedouin schools near Harduf.
Jewish young adults, like Ethan and Charlotte, come from all over the world to volunteer for 2-5 months in Harduf through Project TEN.
Ethan, 19, from Toronto, Canada just recently finished his second cohort at the Harduf Project TEN Center.
“All moments here are really special, but working with the goats at the therapeutic farm in Beit Elisha was awesome. Connecting with agriculture and farming and working with people in a therapeutic way alongside animals was a highlight,” Ethan shared. “Meeting and building a great connection with the kids we work with at the school was the most meaningful aspect of my experience. It was a really big eye-opener for me. I always wanted to work with kids, and now I think I might just do that in my future.”
