Dear Friends,

What an exciting month we had together!

We hosted no less than four fantastic delegations from San Diego – each with wonderful people and fascinating stories – a Family delegation with the CEO Michael Russler, a Birthright delegation, a Women's delegation and a Scott Stone Children's delegation.

Ibim students pull out the arts and crafts drawer for the San Diego children, who, with the students' help, prepare mobiles and hamsas, the traditional symbol of a hand for dispelling evil.

We thoroughly enjoyed welcoming you to your home and sharing with you our daily work with the new immigrant students, which has been facilitated by your generosity over these many years.

As you can see from the photos, the person-to-person

Sticky fingers: San Diego children try their hands at mixing dough for the traditional injera bread.

connections forged during your visits are crucial to our ongoing relationship. The first visit of a San Diego Birthright group met their counterparts on Ibim, decorated the "safe unit" module with graffiti and visited the Marla Bennet memorial site.In addition, it contributes your understanding of the process of immigration and absorption of young adults in Israel in general, and specifically in Ibim.

We hope you enjoyed, learned and left satisfied from the variety of activities we organized: the preparing of injera with Kedma students, making mobiles and hamsa talisman with the new and veteran students in the Village, painting graffiti on our new shelter units, as well as personal discussions with immigrants from Ethiopia, Latin America and the FSU.

A San Diego delegation enjoys a traditional Ethiopian meal on the grass at Ibim.	The first visit of a San Diego Birthright group met their counterparts on Ibim, decorated the "safe unit" module with graffiti and visited the Marla Bennet memorial site.

We're looking forward to seeing you again.

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

After a hearty lunch, Kedma students create a unique circle demanding cooperation, trust, as well as a little muscle tone.

Group Dynamics

Kedma B students, Ethiopian immigrants who began studying towards their national matriculation exams in March of this year, and Kedma A students, who are studying on a more elementary level, participated in a well-deserved day of fun in the North. In addition to the much needed release from the pressures of studying, the trip was geared to creating a cohesive group and enhancing cooperative and listening skills.

All in Fun

No one was left out. New students, veteran students, staff and counselors all participated in Ibim's Village Soccer Tournament.  And the winners were – Kedma A by a long shot.

Congratulations to the Kedma Soccer team, winners of Ibim's Village Tournament.

For more information about Ibim-San Diego Student Village:
Contact Soni Singer, Director, SoniS@jafi.org