Israel Active

(M) 50 Hong Kong university and secondary students got the chance to see firsthand the secrets to Israeli entrepreneurial success, thanks to a six-day trip co-organized by the Technion (Israel Institute of Technology) and Li Ka Shing Foundation.

(Thanks to Eli) The BBC describes the amazing reconstruction work that Israeli surgeon Yoav Leiser of Haifa’s Rambam hospital performed on Mohammad – a Syrian farmer whose face was shattered in an attack by a Syrian warplane.  A rare positive Israel story from the BBC.  Also a report (thanks Michelle) on the $10 million plus spent by Israel in the last 18 months treating 1500 Syrians.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV) organized a workshop to teach successful renewable energy practices and energy efficiency technologies to 23 experts and policymakers from across Eurasia.

(M) As the Bloomberg journalist admits, “Here’s a little-told success story:” Israeli Arabs, women in particular, have made huge strides over the past decade at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, better known as Israel’s answer to MIT.

(Thanks to Nevet – ) A report about two IDF bases where “special” soldiers with disabilities perform important jobs.  IDF service helps integrate the disabled into society and the workforce.  It also educates and changes the attitudes of IDF personnel without disabilities.

Worku Abiy arrived in Israel as an orphan at the age of 15, appearing in the documentary “Take Us Home”.  Exempt from the IDF due to medical issues, he volunteered, and got exceptional basic training scores.  Abiy later applied for and completed an officer’s course.

(Thanks to Janglo) The organization Crossroads, Jerusalem says it “takes teens off the streets and then puts them back on the street with an entire team behind them”.  The team is running the Jerusalem marathon to raise funds for its Jerusalem center and new programs in Modi’in and Beit Shemesh.

Israeli humanitarian organization IsraAID has set-up a program entitled “Ebola Heroes”.  It provides psychosocial training to health workers, teachers, burial teams, policemen, social workers etc., so they can treat Ebola cases, while tackling the devastating effects of fear, trauma, extreme stress and stigma.

A 4-day international seminar for judges took place in Haifa recently.  It focused on the central role of judges in combating human trafficking.  Supporters included the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Organization for Migration.

Israelis have helped install the largest solar field in East Africa.  Gigawatt Global, with its Israeli R&D center Energiya Global, has built an 8.5 Megawatt facility in Kigali, Rwanda, at the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, a kibbutz-style orphanage for victims of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide.