As you prepare your child to return to school this fall, imagine for a moment if you couldn’t. Many Ethiopian parents who immigrated to Israel are severely restricted economically and are hoping that your generous donations will support the Ethiopian National Project (ENP).

The ENP is a charity of the United Jewish Communities (UJC) and Jewish Federations of North America designed to assist Ethiopian, at-risk, teenagers living in Israel.

Last month, UJC approved a voluntary appeal to Federations to help keep Ethiopian-Israeli students in this important education program. Currently facing deep budget cuts, the program is now in crisis and needs urgent funding to keep its doors open.

Without support, ENP would be forced to shut down 15 of 22 Outreach Centers and cut 2,500 Ethiopian youths (ages 13-18) from the programs, due to a recent 51 percent overall budget reduction.

The UJC Executive Committee approved a request to help the Ethiopian National Project – a partner of UJC/Federation, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee and the Jewish Agency for Israel – by raising $3.7 million in order to maintain scholastic assistance programs and Youth Outreach Centers.

UJC Center for Jewish Philanthropy Chair, and Wilmington resident, Toni Young said that, “Every $1,000 raised will keep one student in the program for a year.” She commented, “We have to prevent the Ethiopian-Israelis from becoming a permanent underclass.”

The committee was briefed on the emergent situation and agreed to support the UJC Center for Jewish Philanthropy proposal that asks Federations to voluntarily raise money to save these programs.

“This is a voluntary effort,” Young said. “We are presenting this ENP effort as an opportunity to all those communities wishing to be a part of it.
The scholastic assistance program has been shown to help this at-risk population achieve significantly higher scores in school exams that determine college eligibility and represent a key gateway into Israeli society, according to a Myers-JDC-Brookdale study.

“We do not want these kids to be without this kind of help,” Young added.

The emergent campaign will commence immediately and run through the month of August. If funding commitments are generated in the next six weeks, ENP will be able to hire teachers in time for the school year in September. Payments can come as late as next summer, but communities must make commitments in this month to save the programs.

ENP administrators tell of several examples of young adults who are assisted by this life-changing program.

Abeve was 14-year-old when he nearly dropped out of school. Few believed in him, nor did he believe in himself. But the staff of the Ethiopian National Project (ENP) had total confidence that he had the potential to succeed. Trained personnel worked intensively with him – first on rebuilding his self-confidence, then on improving his grades. Today, not only is Abeve regularly attending school, but he received one of the highest grades on his college acceptance exams and is certain to lead a successful life thanks to ENP. Abeve is one of thousands; thousands more await this opportunity.

In 2004, only 19% of Ethiopian-Israeli seniors passed their high school completion exams, compared to 56% of the total Jewish population. In 2006, 32% of Ethiopian-Israeli seniors who attended high schools with ENP programs tested well enough to get into college. In 2008, statistics now show that the ENP has brought to a stop, and even reversed, many negative trends such as dropout rates, delinquency and flat college attendance.

The ENP is a charity of the United Jewish Communities (UJC), sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Delaware, and is making its place in the philanthropic world with quantifiable successes. With your much needed donations, this month, these successes will continue.
To donate, go to www.ShalomDelaware.org and click on the “Ethiopian National Project.” For more information, go to http://www.enp.org.il/default.aspx.