In a City Under Bombardment, BGU Students Volunteer to Help
In a City Under Bombardment, BGU Students Volunteer to Help
November 20, 2012
Homeland & Cyber Security, Negev Development & Community Programs
Although Classes Are Canceled, the Student Spirit of Volunteerism Is Not
November 20, 2012– A week into Operation Pillar of Defense with rockets raining on Beer-Sheva, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) students are volunteering in bomb shelters and poor neighborhoods to help ease the trauma of the city’s residents and brighten the spirits in the increasingly dangerous and stressful environment Research.
Since last Wednesday, November 14th, and as of 10:45 a.m. in Israel today, 152 rockets have been fired on Beer-Sheva, including 30 this morning. Approximately 49 fell in open spaces, 11 have hit the city while The Iron Dome has downed 92.
BGU’s student population is one of the most socially active in Israel and many of those who volunteer have continued to do so even under fire. Students who work with residents in the Gimmel (a poor residential area) neighborhood next to the Marcus Family Campus through the Lillian and Larry Goodman Open Apartments Program have stepped up their activities this week, volunteering in the bomb shelters.
With the help of volunteers from the Student Association, they have distributed toys and organized activities inside public bomb shelters and will continue to do so as long as the situation continues.
Tal Goldman, a student in the Charlotte B. and Jack J. Spitzer Department of Social Work in the social activism track and coordinator of the Public Activists Project for the University’s Community Action Department, approached the various institutions in the city with especially vulnerable populations: battered women’s shelters, homes for those with mental disabilities, and hostels for those dealing with emotional issues.
“They were overjoyed when we offered to send them students,” Goldman says.
Since Sunday, dozens of students have flocked to the centers, “and I’ve received extremely positive feedback about how stress levels are lowering and they are better able to deal with the crazy situation we are in.”
Other students have been volunteering through the Department of Emergency Medicine. Second and third year students have augmented the ranks of Magen David Adom paramedics in the city. Many of the regular paramedics have been called up for reserve duty and the students are taking their place, according to Department Head Dr. Limor Aharonson-Daniel.
After Operation Cast Lead, Aharonson-Daniel called for and began to organize student volunteers to assist the Beer-Sheva municipality. Hundreds responded and signed up to be called upon if needed. During the last week, they have stood ready to volunteer for whatever tasks deemed needed.
Along similar lines, Prof. Richard Isralowitz, from the Department of Social Work and head of the Regional Alcohol and Drug Abuse Resources (RADAR) Center, has developed a Web site that offers guidelines on how to help families address mental health first aid for children, parents and caregivers. This effort, in part, is supported with a grant received from USAID. The site is in the final stages of completion and can be found here.
“We are enormously proud of BGU’s students and staff, who so meaningfully take to heart their commitment to the people of Beer-Sheva,” says Doron Krakow, executive vice president for American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Americans for Ben-Gurion University).
“We eagerly look forward to a successful outcome of Israel’s current efforts to safeguard its citizens and to the resumption of classes at the University. In the meantime, our thoughts, our hopes and our prayers are with our extended BGU family and with the people of Israel.”
BGU is one of the safest locations in the city, with numerous shelters, but security and administrative personnel have additional infrastructure needs that now need to be met. For example, a temporary concrete shelter was constructed for the security guards – who are also BGU students – where they can take cover during rocket attacks (see photo).
A more permanent shelter is needed, as are rescue vehicles and equipment, protective vests and communication devices to provide as much protection as possible while doing a dangerous job. To find out how you can help, call Americans for Ben-Gurion University at 800-962-2248.
Watch an IBA (Israel Broadcasting Authority) video about conditions in Beer-Sheva and BGU>>
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