📝 Detailed information
🏢 About the local organisation
Established in 1969, the Israel Association of Community Centers' (IACC) mission is to advance the quality of life in Israel's most diverse communities by tailoring programs to the unique needs of each community. Some projects include innovative early childhood enrichment programs that encourage embracing each other's differences, while others focus on coexistence between Jews and Arabs. The IACC offers the services of professional training, planning, development, and fundraising for special projects to meet the needs of its network that includes over 160 community centers (40 in the non-Jewish sector) throughout Israel.
GoEco volunteers will have the opportunity to work alongside the IACC in the diverse town of Mughar and to assist with its annual summer camp for Druze, Christian, and Muslim children. The themes of the camp are the principles of coexistence, arts, sports, and ecology, all taught in English.
The National Israeli Service for Adult Volunteering (SHALEM) will assist with organizing and facilitating the program.
💼 What the programme involves
During the project, volunteers will assist the Mughar Community Center in running a unique and diverse summer care program for children. This will include:
Organizing various activities for the campers
Setting up and conducting workshops on ecology, sports, music, and arts
Rotating between the workshops to teach English
Escorting day trips (e.g. swimming pool, nature hikes, theme park, etc.)
Volunteer hours during the camp day will be 08:30 - 14:00. Between 14:00 - 16:00 volunteers will prepare activities for the next day.
Important note: schedule and activities may change according to demand and unforeseeable events.
🏠 Accommodation on site
Accommodations: volunteers will have the unique opportunity to live with a local family during the program. During this time, volunteers will learn more about local customs and cuisine. Home stay includes single or shared room with bed, linens, and shared bathroom.
Food: volunteers will eat breakfast and dinner at the homestay, and lunch will be given at the Community Center.
Laundry: available but limited
Internet: available at local internet cafes
This program is a unique cultural experience and volunteers need to respect local customs that are very different from what is common back home, for example:
It is forbidden for volunteers to drink alcohol while staying at the village
Volunteers are expected to inform their host families where they are going after volunteer hours and not return late at night.
Volunteers need to be highly motivated to work and practice English with children and host families, even though it may be difficult to communicate.
Other cultural points will be given during the orientation and camp.
📍 About the location
Situated in northern Israel, Maghar is a unique multicultural village, overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee. Maghar is historic, originally named "Zar" during the Roman Period. The many olive and grape presses testify to a long history of agriculture in the area, in addition to the numerous hillside caves which show signs of ancient habitation. Today, the town has a diverse religious and ethnic makeup of Druze, Christians, and Muslims.
ℹ️ Additional information
Extra fee: US$350. Very high level of English is required