Friends by Nature - Community Empowerment

Friends by Nature (FBN) - Community Empowerment is a non-profit Israeli organization established in 2005 by a diverse group of Ethiopian-Israelis and veteran Israelis, secular and religious, all committed to multiculturalism, helping youth at-risk and the success of immigrant communities in Israel. FBN runs programs for at-risk Ethiopian-Israeli youth and their families – focusing on developing young leadership, increasing volunteerism, civil society, community renewal, strengthening the family unity, and increasing a connection to the land of Israel.

FBN implements a "Community Garin" holistic approach: Successful Ethiopian-Israelis (young families and young adults) move back into at-risk neighborhoods, form groups of idealistic activists, and assume social-educational responsibility in the community.

For example, the Gedera Community Garin, founded in 2006, includes 16 families and 25 young adults (both Ethiopian-Israelis and veteran-Israelis) with similar educational values, who all live in Gedera and take social-educational responsibility in the Shapira Neighborhood (1,300 Ethiopian-Israelis - 74% of all Ethiopian-Israelis in Gedera who comprise 87% of the neighborhood's population).

The Garin members operate activities such as "Homework- At Home!” an effective home-tutoring program that creates a positive learning environment at home, the Youth Center, Community Gardening, as well as working closely with the Gedera Regional High School.

FBN results include:

-After two years of FBN programming, high school dropout rates by grade 12 decreased to ZERO, where previously the dropout rate was nearly 80%.

• The local police report ZERO calls by the high school, where previously there was at least one call per week due to violence involving Ethiopian-Israeli youth.
• Magen David Adom has reported ZERO calls related to youth violence from the Shapira neighborhood in the past 2 years, while before they reported 6 such call every 24 hours!
  
• FBN has developed enthusiastic young leadership who take responsibility for their communities.
  
• FBN has copied the model to a total of 8 communities: Gedera, Kiryat Gat, Yavne, Be'er-Sheva, Beit-Shemesh, Netivot, Ashkelon and Rishon Le-Zion.

Click here to make a donation in support of Friends By Nature (FBN).

Friends By Nature-
1 Shprintzak St, Gedera 70700 Israel
Tel:972-77-211-5519
Fax: 972-77-211-5528
Email: Katznir@gmail.com
Website: www.friendsbynature.org