Communities Believe in Education-Kemach Faciliator Musrara and Kiryat Yovel, Jerusalem
Igal David is a formal and informal educator who grew up in Ramla. He attended the Ben Shemen Boarding School and graduated with distinction. In the army he served as a commander in the paratroopers and after working for a year in construction to help support his family, he attended Hebrew University and completed a Bachelors degree in Hebrew Literature and Bible. He is currently finishing his Masters in Literature from Ben Gurion University in the Negev.
Igal began working for Memizrach Shemesh when he was a student at Hebrew University. He facilitated Memizrach Shemesh student groups for two years and then moved on to work with the Communities Believe in Education Parent Leadership Program or Kemach. Igal truly found his place in the Kemach groups. He explains, “I felt connected because I grew up in a traditional Mizrachi home. In my experience as a Kemach Facilitator, the work we do in these groups is similar to learning we do within my family, especially with my sister Sima who is a single mother with four children living in Ramla. The groups are made up of people who are like those who I grew up with in my neighborhood in Ramla.” One of the reasons why Igal is so passionate about working with these parents is because of the importance of education in social mobility, “For these parents, education is of utmost importance. They know that without education, their kids will not succeed in breaking the cycle of poverty”.
Many parent’s from Igal’s groups express that they are empowered by the group meetings and Jewish text study. Over time, some parents have succeeded in advocating for themselves and for others at their children’s schools. Igal is proud of this success, “I believe in my ability to understand and connect with these parents, to help them realize their strengths to navigate and influence the course of their children’s education”