Raising hope on Israel’s streets
Four years ago, Lampert helped found Osim Shchuna, now a force of more than 10,000 volunteers, who developed a leadership core in Israel's lowest-income neighbourhoods.
Some years ago, Shlomo Lampert, a captain in an elite IDF unit, grieved for another fighter in his outfit who died from his wounds.
“It made me think – what will happen after I die? I decided to devote my life to making our people stronger,” said Lampert, CEO of Israeli social-enterprise startup Osim Shchuna (Action in the Community), who visited Australia this month.
Lampert earlier helped develop Hashomer Hachadash, a volunteer recruitment organisation safeguarding land and farms in the Negev and Galilee, but realised decay in fringe urban areas was an even greater challenge.
Four years ago, Lampert helped found Osim Shchuna, now a force of more than 10,000 volunteers, who developed a leadership core in Israel’s lowest-income neighbourhoods.
These leaders in turn encourage youth to become involved in renovations that instil new pride and reduce crime in transitional neighbourhoods. There is an emphasis on street safety, with volunteers staying out at night, intervening with troubled youth. Many of these young people join the IDF where they learn new confidence, said Lampert.
Since October 7, Osim Shchuna has kept spirits up among people driven from their homes in the south, and has repaired or installed more than 7000 safe rooms.
“A 17-year-old from one of Israel’s toughest neighbourhoods called us to say they have no shelter,” recalled Lampert. “I told him to take a video of five shelters, and we saw that they were in very poor condition.”
After years of disuse, many shelters were filled with garbage or had no electricity or plumbing. Just recently, a rocket fell in Ashdod, and tenants were protected in a shelter the organisation had finished restoring minutes earlier.
With the war in the north now accelerating, Osim Shchuna is restoring shelters in older buildings and poorer neighbourhoods in that region, easing the plight of elderly and children living in their homes without emergency shelters.
Committing NIS4000 ($A1500) will pay for the restoration of one shelter, ensuring occupants have electricity and running water, and that around-the-clock volunteers have their tools and logistics.
Lampert visited Sydney and Melbourne, and was moved by the groundswell of support from shules, community groups and individuals.
In Melbourne, Mizrachi and ARK Centre committed to pairing with communities in Israel for shelters, and in Sydney and Melbourne, private donors pitched in.
“I came to Australia, not as an amazing speaker to talk about what happens [in the wider region],” said Lampert, “but what happens on the streets of Israel.”
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