Ran's Place, the unique youth center in Arad, celebrated its 2nd anniversary in June. A happy occasion and a cause for celebration. The building was packed. Many people, including Mayor Moti Bril, Racheli Abramson, head of the education department at the municipality and many others, professionals, volunteers and youth were there. But it was a sad occasion too, since  Ariana Dokerker the manager of Ran's place was leaving her job and Israel  to go to Canada to continue her studies.


These are Ariana's personal impressions of her time at Ran's place.

Goodbye, I am Leaving…
Farewell letter from Ran's Place
By Ariana Dokerker

I spent my field work (practicum) as a social worker, in my last year of studies, in the Social Services Bureau in Arad, as part of the youth staff.

As part of my end-of-year project, I started to work on establishing Ran's Place, and immediately fell in love with the idea. I dealt mainly with recruiting and training volunteers. Along with this, the rest of the youth staff promoted many other topics. The school year ended, Ran's Place was ready to be opened, and they naturally began to look for a manager. Of course, I submitted my candidacy, and that is how my love affair with Ran's Place began…

Ran's Place became a home for me, from laying the foundations to applying the finishing touches.

Ran's Place became part of the community. So many partners and donors, so many volunteers. I felt that each and every person in this city cared about Ran's Place.

The young people like to come there because of the special combination of youth and adults. On one hand, we try to give our youth everything they need and want, and on the other hand, we set boundaries for them. I think that our youth come in search of boundaries.

The volunteers, the counselors and the staff serve as normative, adult role models, and give our youth the understanding that each and every one of them has a chance of a better future - their fate is in their own hands!

As I write this, I am sitting in a rented student apartment in Montreal, Canada. I left my "baby" in order to study for my master's degree in community social work. I would like to take this opportunity to thanks the Arad-Tamar P2K partnership that chose me for a delegation on December 2006/June 12, when we traveled to learn about the Jewish community in Atlantic County, New Jersey. Today, when I am abroad, the first thing I looked for here is the Jewish network. It is so important to be part of the Jewish community here, my Jewish identity is becoming so much stronger, and I am eager to learn about the ties between Jewish communities abroad and in Israel.

Today I understand how important it is to teach our youth about Jewish identity. After all, they are our future. These kids who come every evening to Ran's Place are the future of our community, and therefore I believe wholeheartedly that we have to invest in them and constantly remind them that the responsibility for their future lies solely in their hands and that they are capable of anything!

I would like all the partners for having been given an opportunity to be part of Ran's Place. I feel that I received much more than I gave.