Social Services has defined about 700 of the youth living in Sderot as youth at risk.  More than half of these are children of immigrants.

In the 1990’s, Sderot absorbed more than 7,500 new immigrants from Kafkaz, (the Caucus mountain region of the Former Soviet Union).  Today they comprise 35% of the city’s population.  Kafkaz immigrants, who were valued and successful in their home country, have been caught in the chaos of immigration crisis in Israel; many are unemployed, impoverished, and have seen their family structure disintegrate.  The Kafkaz youth often fare no better than their parents; a high percentage have dropped out of school and very few go on to serve in Israel’s Defense Forces.  These choices remove them from Israel’s normative social, educational and economic paths and limit their future opportunities for success.

The Ben Gurion Club was founded in 2001 in a neighborhood with a high percentage of Kafkaz immigrants.  The club is open to all youth, 3 days a week for 6 hours each day. More than 60 boys and girls, ages 13-17, are club members.

The Club’s staff are young adults from the Kafkaz community, successful club graduates, community volunteers and members of the community’s Mitzad group.  The Club’s mission is to strengthen the members’ personal and community identity and pride and to help members and their families negotiate the realities of modern Israel and integrate into Israeli society.  Ben-Gurion club sponsors social and enrichment activities, computer studies (in a new computer room), academic tutoring, workshops to prevent violence and substance abuse, and community volunteerism by youth for the city.  Activities also encompass the parents of the Club’s participants with support and workshops about military service, cultural diversity, National Service, education, and more.

The Ben Gurion Club is only partially protected from rocket attacks.  Coping with the security situation is a reoccurring theme among all the Club’s activities and the staff encourages open discussion of fears and traumas as part of strengthening coping mechanisms.

Gvanim thanks its Program Partners:  Sderot Community Center, Matan – Your Way to Give, the Glencore Foundation and the Hackel Family of New York