A poor immigrant becomes a good role model

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Sarkalem, 35, arrived in Israel from Ethiopia in 1992. She remembers well the village where she was raised and the mud hut that she called home for half of her life. "When I arrived in Israel, I'd never seen electricity, plumbing, or big buildings," Sarkalem explains. "I thought that I was coming to the biblical Jerusalem with the Temple services being performed. I literally had to start learning from square one."

Though Sarkalem and her husband came from a family that was relatively well-to-do by Ethiopian standards, they struggled to make ends meet and to adapt to their new life in Israel. "Once we arrived in Israel, I realized that neither of us understood the language, culture, or job market," she says. "Since then, I have lived with the fear of my children going hungry."

Today Sarkalem and her husband have seven children. Though they thank God every day that they are raising them in Israel, the financial burden has been tremendous. "I began looking for a job five years ago and had no success," she says. "I was desperate to learn a valuable skill, yet had nowhere to turn for the financial help. It was straight from heaven that I heard about the Fellowship-funded Nishmat Ethiopian Women program.

"From the week after I graduated the course, I have been working as a nurse's aide," she says. "I love helping the sick people and feel so accomplished that I can help support my family. I feel proud to be a good role model for my children and not live off welfare. Thank you with all my heart."

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