Based on our very successful experience with micro-loans in Mexico (the first community “bank” is almost completely funded already), we are expanding our efforts to reach out to Ethiopian Jews in Israel and to help them in a similar way.
Today, Wednesday, we had a meeting with Avraham, an Ethiopian activist from Israel, who was very encouraging and helpful. He validated many of our assumptions about the community there. There is great unemployment, especially among the middle-aged Ethiopians and the elders. The community is composed in large part of separate enclaves within Israeli society and has not yet been absorbed to any great degree.
There would be the potential for small businesses created by Ethiopians to meet the needs in their own neighborhoods for food, clothing, and other items that remind them of Ethiopia. Indeed, there are already some such businesses in operation in areas like Jerusalem and an expressed interest by others to design enterprises of their own. It could be very feasible for us to apply the principles of micro-financing there. Avraham will help us to find a local coordinator who will go into a pilot neighborhood, after training provided by us, to identify and to begin to coordinate a group of potential borrowers.
While all of the details remain to be worked out, it is possible that we will have some representatives of ours in Israel in December to meet with Avraham and with people in various local communities as well as with potential coordinators.
This was a giant step forward.
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