June 2008
Shards of glass litter the sidewalk. Plastic cups, empty soda bottles and bits of food clinging to paper plates have found refuge in the open ditches. Candy wrappers swirl in the wind. The Nitzan refugee camp looks its ugliest at night when the harsh light of the street lamps shine on the rubbish-filled alleyways.

I'm on my summer night power walk.

I meet Yossi Dahari, Youth Center director. "Rachel, I've got a problem and I need your help."

I stop and take a swig of water. "What's the matter, Yossi? How can I help?"

"It's the teenagers. Summer vacation is coming. I've got to keep them busy. Their parents can't afford to give them pocket money. I'm afraid they are going to get into a lot of trouble....

"They went crazy last night. Did you see the streets filled with broken glass? One of our storage rooms was broken into and trashed and we've got a whole summer ahead of us. The kids will sleep all day out of boredom. The nights will be spent releasing energy.

"Rachel, can you help?"

Yossi was distraught. With little support from the local council, he needed help. But the help had to be meaningful. No freebies.

As a teenager I always worked during the summer months. I earned my yearly pocket money and even gave my parents part of my paycheck. (Years later, I learned that my mother had saved it for me.)

"Yossi, I've got an idea. Let's put the kids to work cleaning up this place and I'll find the money to pay each one according to how many hours he or she works. They'll learn about the environment. They'll have to get up in the morning and go to work. They'll have their pocket money, the community will benefit and the kids will be too tired to get into mischief at night. We'll call it 'Clean-Up Kids'. It's a win-win project."

Yossi looked at me. I looked at him. His face glowed. Yossi is an organizer and a leader. This would be money well spent.

I called Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon of JobKatif. "I've got a proposal for you. Let JobKatif and Operation Dignity join together…" and I went on explaining the details. We both agreed on the amount each of us would put into the program and within ten minutes we were into a joint project to help the teens and to clean up Nitzan.

"Get the project organized," I told Yossi. "It's a go!"

August 2008
Something magical happened this summer. Over sixty teenagers signed up for work. They cleaned the ditches
It was not their beloved moshav communities in Gush Katif, but it is their present home.
and the alleyways. They painted kindergartens. They repaired broken toys. They helped stack packages of food for our Free Food gemach (a free loan society). They painted the inside and outside of their youth club (rather garish, but they love it). And on and on.

More than that, the teens developed a sense of pride in their environment. No, it was not their beloved moshav communities in Gush Katif, but it is their present home.

Nitzan is a slum. Dilapidated ship containers have become offices, shops and extra sleeping accommodations. Torn couches have become garden furniture. Here and there some flowers grow. A sense of homelessness and hopelessness permeates the refugee camp.

But this summer, the teens were busy. They earned money and many even gave some of their earnings to their parents. The parents were thrilled.

Thank you JobKatif and Yossi Dahari; and to you, my dear readers. Your contributions to Operation Dignity was money put to good use.

I love my power walks. I never know how powerful they can become.

Send contributions earmarked "Operation Dignity" to:

Central Fund for Israel
13 Hagoel Street
Efrat 90435
Israel

or

Central Fund for Israel
980 Sixth Avenue
New York, NY 10018 USA