Fifteen counselors of the Netzer Youth Movement from South Africa were hosted in Beit Shemesh and worked as volunteers in the summer camp for the children of Ethiopian olim.

Micki Blumberg, the representative of the South African community in Israel, opened the visit with a few words on Partnership 2000 and the important link between the South African community and the community in Israel. From their introductions, it was clear that the counselors were individuals with a strong sense of social responsibility, ambition, and ideology.

  
Following a tour of Beit Shemesh, the counselors toured Emek HaAlah and Tel Azeika. They enthusiastically climbed the famous "Mount Goliath" where many believe the famous Biblical battle took place between David and Goliath. Local families gladly hosted the counselors in their homes. This was an opportunity for them to become personally familiar with the community and to take part in a family experience.

"I was very excited when I heard that they would be arriving in Israel and would visit Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plain. For me this was a wonderful opportunity to meet and spend time with my friends, the counselors from the camp. We maintained contact after my return to Israel but I never imagined that I would meet them again so soon and here in the region," said Yuval Madmoni, an Israeli counselor who worked in a Netzer camp in South Africa last summer as part of a Partnership 2000 project.

  
The next day, the counselors joined the counseling staff and children at the Narkiss summer camp for an activity implemented by Midreshet Beit Shemesh. The campers welcomed the counselors who immediately got involved in the arts and crafts activities. In addition, the counselors and campers took part in an activity on behalf of the members of the Elderly Day Center in the city. This was without a doubt an unforgettable day for the children, the counselors, and the members of the Center. Finally, the counselors visited the local "Wine Route" and were later hosted for an ethnic meal at the home of one of the local amateur chefs. Their hostess had participated in the Ethnic Aroma food festival in South Africa in which 12 cooks from the region participated.