Dear Friends,

As our new year opens, I want to share the new beginnings here at the Ibim-San Diego Student Village.
 
We have welcomed four volunteers to our counseling team. Full of motivation, three of them are taking a year off before their army induction to perform community service, and one is a young immigrant from the FSU who is volunteering with us in lieu of military duties. The four of them are enthusiastic to learn and eager to begin a full schedule of work with both our immigrants and refugees. We wish them the best.

Our Darfurian refugees are still with us, and a healthy baby boy was just born to one of the couples. We hope that will be a sign of a better future; meanwhile the families will remain with us pending a government decision as to their status.
 
Undeterred by the continued rocket attacks on our area, thirty-six new immigrants have arrived from the Former Soviet Union to begin their new life in Israel. Our upgraded dining room will be inaugurated in time for Rosh Hashana; reinforced with special protection against rocket attacks. We have been waiting impatiently for this moment and aside from giving all the village residents a greater sense of security, we hope to host you in it soon.

In an optimistic spirit of new beginnings, I want to wish you and your families a sweet new year, a year of peace and security, health and prosperity. I also have great hopes for another year of fruitful cooperation between our two communities.

Best Regards,

Soni Singer and the entire staff of
the Ibim-San Diego Student Village

We were happy to host a group of professionals from San Diego in the Shaar Hanegev Region this past summer. It was our pleasure to spend time with this lovely group and we hope they enjoyed the visit as well.

In the midst of dealing with the Darfurian refugees on Ibim over the summer months, we were reminded of our own personal and national tragedies of only last year. The War in Lebanon last summer took the life of Ibim Kedma graduate Yalau Ismau z"l. On August 13, a ceremony was held in his name during which ten scholarships for higher education were awarded to Kedma students. The scholarships of $1000 each were generously contributed by Nochi Dankner's IDB Fund. Yalau's parents, family, friends, IDF commanders and Kedma friends from around the country attended the moving ceremony. We hope the event will become an annual tradition, memorializing Yalau's name.