At Machon Chaya Mushka, a leading educational institution of the Jewish Community of Dnipro for girls, the “Mentorship” project has been launched, within which the older students, participants of the “Shura Rishona” program, help the younger ones in their studies, share their knowledge and experience, and also learn to care for those who need their support. The first session of the project initiated regular Sunday gatherings that unite girls of different ages.
Even before the start of the project, the parents of the younger girls filled out special questionnaires in which they indicated exactly what help their daughters needed – with writing, reading, mathematics, Hebrew, English, or other school subjects. Then, taking into account these wishes and psychological compatibility, the pairs were carefully selected.
The gatherings within the “Mentorship” project will take place every Sunday and will last forty-five minutes. Each gathering will be divided into two parts: half of the time is devoted to help with studies, and the other half to informal friendly communication, games, drawing, conversations, and other forms of psychological support.
The venue for the classes has been designated as the conference hall and the premises of the Beit Chabad for Israelis in the administrative building of the Central “Golden Rose” Synagogue complex, where the gatherings will take place in the most comfortable conditions while observing the principle of an individual approach.
The “Mentorship” project holds important educational significance not only for the younger but also for the older girls, for by helping the younger ones, they gain experience of responsibility, patience, and care for another person, and learn not only to pass on knowledge but also to find an approach to their friend, which will be very important for their future shlichus. For the younger students, such gatherings become an opportunity to receive additional help in their studies and to find an older friend to whom they can turn for advice and support.
“It is very important to us that the older students understand that their knowledge, experience, and skills can bring genuine benefit to others, and that the younger girls feel that beside them there is a person ready to help and support,” noted Morah Edna Yudovich. “This is precisely where one of the most important tasks of Jewish education lies: to learn not only for oneself but also for the sake of others, to develop responsibility and a readiness to help one’s fellow. This is an important part of raising girls as future mothers and shluchos of the Rebbe, who are called to carry the light of Yiddishkeit both in their families and to those around them. And we thank from the bottom of our hearts for the opportunity to implement such projects and to carry out the mission of our Machon, our beloved united and cohesive Jewish Community of Dnipro under the leadership of Chief Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki.”
