A full Day of Volunteering

  Thursday 2/5/15
    The day began teaching 3 sessions at The Reali  school.  There is much concern there about the future of the school. Funding and political issues are putting it at risk. The older students are aware of the situation and are organizing a rally to show their support.
   Later in the day we took a long walk down hill to volunteer at Likrat Shabbat. A food bank.  We helped fill 2 cartons per family, which are delivered to households later in the day.   One carton  had fresh vegtables and a whole chicken and rice.  The other carton had 2 loaves of bread, a dozen eggs, a plastic bag of milk, 10 avocados , a bag of tomatoes, head of cabbage...  We took a public bus back up the hill. In addition to our group of volunteers there were lots of teenage kids helping to provide this community service.
     Tomorrow is Friday so everything closes early for Shabbat.   We have a guest speaker ( a Nobel prize winner. Dr. Dan Schectman speaking and then luncheon at the home of a staff member from the Boston Haifa connection office.
     Saturday my host family is taking myself and one other volunteer to see a Druze village.  I did a little research and found the following:

Daliyat el-Carmel is a Druze village high on the slopes of Mt. Carmel and has an exceptionally unique character. It is a colorful village that offers wonderful hospitality with a smile and is also very interesting. The Druze is an ethnic group that split off from Islam in Egypt about 1,000 years ago. According to the Druze, their religion is the renewal of an ancient faith that became a secret known only to the group’s sages. Daliyat el-Carmel was founded in the 17th century by Druze from Mt. Lebanon. To the south of Daliyat el-Carmel is another Druze village, Isfiya, which was united with Daliyat el-Carmel in 2003 into a single town whose official name is Carmel.

Daliyat el-Carmel’s colorful market, open on Saturdays, is only an excuse to come to this place. On the main street dozens of stores offer their varied wares and one can get lost in the abundance and 
variety. Between the stores are many restaurants serving genuine Druze ethnic foods, bakeries that fill the air with the sweet smell of baklava pastries. Other food stands sell high quality olive oil, olives, pita bread and locally produced labaneh cheese. The flurry of activity, the colors, the new beside the old, and the village bustling with people are a multi-
sensational experience not to be missed. The market also has a few galleries where cultural evenings can be held, alongside the Druze hospitality.

There is always something new to see and do and experience!