At the end of November, four "Otzma" volunteers (2 males & 2 females) came to the region for a three-month stay to contribute their time and energy for the benefit of the Karmiel and Misgav communities.

The four volunteers are all Pittsburgh residents who came to the partner communities through the Partnership 2000 program sponsored by the Jewish Agency.

The four volunteers are:

* Yoni (Jonathan) Sternberg, a former camp counselor at the JCC Summer Camps and has a degree in Business Administration

* Jenn (Jennifer) Putterman, an art teacher and has a degree in Art Education and Spanish.

* Keren Gal Or, born in Haifa, Keren has extensive experience as a youth counselor and has a degree in Economics

* Benji Gross, has extensive experience in teaching English to children and teens and has a degree in Psychology 

The volunteers came to Israel within the "Otzma" Program framework. "Otzma" is a unique program that offers North American Jewish students ages 20-25 the opportunity to volunteer a year of service in Israel.

The project trains the students to serve as young leaders of their community in the future, instills in them the tools critical for understanding the problems of Israel today and allows them the opportunity to experience the Israeli life style.

Each of the volunteers will work between 6-8 hours a day, 5 days a week, in various frameworks. They will reside at the Jewish Agency Absorption Center in Karmiel and volunteer at the following locations:

* The Rom Farm- an agricultural farm and rehabilitation center for mentally disabled adults

* After-school youth centers for Bedouin children in Misgav- the volunteers will work in the region's Bedouin villages and assist in the implementation of various youth activities, arts and craft workshops, sports and other activities, etc.

* The Karmiel Children's Village- to provide aid to three care centers in the village and operate after-school activities

* Jewish Agency Absorption Center in Karmiel- they will work with the newly arrived "Bnei Menashe" immigrants from India, implement arts and craft activities and teach English to the children residing at the center.

* "Pitchon Lev"- packaging food packages for needy area residents and organizing the second-hand store (clothes, toys and house ware).

* MATI "Lev Hagalil"- to assist the center's staff