During the summer months, ENP’s Summer camps, Youth Outreach Center activities, field trips, and staff planning for the next school year are in full-swing. Until a little under two weeks ago, it was a typical warm Israeli summer. But since then, over 1250 rockets or mortars have been fired at towns and cities in Israel from the Gaza Strip, Egypt, Lebanon, and Syria – killing and injuring citizens from the northern border to the southern city of Eilat.

But ENP work cannot and does not stop, even during this period of conflict – ENP youth are fundamentally involved with ENP programs and staff-members are key people in the lives of all of them. Currently, ENP is working to maintain as many programs as possible, and is also working hard to secure the emergency funding that will enable the evacuation of some of those youth most in harm’s way.

Orders issued by the home-front command have necessitated the temporary closure of some of ENP’s southern centers and other ENP Youth Outreach Centers have been opened to the general public for use as neighborhood bomb shelters. But ducking out of harm’s way when sirens signal the beginning of the short countdown to a missile or mortar arriving, staff are still working hard - visiting youth at home, talking to parents and families about the situation and providing the same type of invaluable support that they are so used to giving.

ENP will not let the current situation inhibit the good work that is done for Ethiopian-Israel every day.