How does Shoham enable gifted young Ethiopian-Israelis to reach their potential?
Shoham takes bright and motivated children from Israel’s Ethiopian community and gives them the education and tools to transform their lives.
Young Ethiopian-Israelis face many challenges – the majority don’t have parents who understand Hebrew; they experience financial hardship; and they face higher crime rates. These factors significantly impact their ability to excel academically and despite performing well in early years, their grades drop by the end of high school and few end up eligible for university compared to the general Israeli population.
Shoham was created to give these students the educational support, academic resources and cultural knowledge to thrive. The six-year programme currently has 35 participants aged 12-18 who are committed to participating and working hard to progress. It takes place after school, four days a week, and through a rich and diverse curriculum, participants are given the skills and training to ultimately get them into elite army units, good universities and gain high levels of employment.
This is a truly transformational programme that changes the lives of its participants and inspires their siblings and others in their community to break the cycle of poverty they grew up in and work towards a brighter future.
Every story matters
MEET TAMAR
Tamar was a naturally gifted mathematician and had been placed in the highest grouping for maths at her school. However, she was truant from school 50% of the time and the school had lost hope in her, subsequently moving her to the lowest maths group. Tamar was in ninth grade and on the verge of dropping out when Shoham offered her the opportunity to join their educational programme. She quickly demonstrated her aptitude for learning and would study hard for Shoham’s exams but there was a huge gap between her performance at Shoham and her performance at school where she continued to miss days and consequently received very low grades.
The dedicated staff at Shoham worked intensively with Tamar to improve her school attendance and make up the material she had missed, and they convinced her school to move her back to the highest maths group and provide additional academic support. They also introduced her to a huge range of books which led to a new found love of reading.
Shoham also introduced Tamar to classical music and took her to concerts, which she thoroughly enjoyed. They sent her to a computer programming class once a week and then took her on tours of high-tech companies such as Google, Mobileye and others. It opened up a world for her she never knew existed, and she decided she wanted a future in high-tech. In tenth grade, she began studying computing, excelled in the higher math group, and moved up to the highest group in English.
Tamar’s progress has been astounding and she has transformed herself from being on the verge of dropping out to being one of the top students in her class. Both Shoham and her school are confident Tamar will now excel in whatever she chooses to do in the future.
