‘Instead of vandalising their neighbourhoods, they are rebuilding them’

The outcomes of this “bottom up” approach are reduced crime rates, a greater sense of safety and also pride in where they live – as well as in themselves, says Shlomo.

Osim Shechuna founder and CEO Shlomo Lampert (Photo: JNF UK)[Missing Credit]

According to Osim Shechuna, there are 195 “troubled neighbourhoods” in Israel, accounting for around 330,000 children and youth. In just five years, the charity has reached more than 70 of these districts and worked with around 30 municipalities.

Many of these are outside the big cities, and a significant number are close to or on Israel’s northern and southern borders, adding to the day-to-day stress.

Shlomo cites Rishon LeZion, just south of Tel Aviv as an example of a city with a large number of disillusioned youth. “There is a big gap between the rich and the poor there. Many of the residents made aliyah from Ethiopia, Russia and Ukraine, and the kids say: ‘We came to make aliyah, but it’s made us slaves of this hi-tech country’s rich.’ It’s an example of a rich city with poor neighbourhoods.”

Identifying three causes of the vicious cycle of poverty and crime many young people fall into, Shlomo says: “Firstly, the safety on the streets. You can’t talk to someone about becoming an entrepreneur if they are just trying to survive. Secondly, the neglect of the streets themselves, and thirdly, whether the leadership is positive or negative. If the strong people in the community are criminals, the kids want to be like them. When we set up Osim Shechuna, we asked ourselves how we could change these three things.”

Osim Shechuna vounteers getting to work (Photo: JNF UK)[Missing Credit]

Hugely charismatic and visionary – two days after our meeting, he is on TV being interviewed about his work for a documentary– Shlomo says the approach of Osim Shechuna is counter to that taken by many organisations working with at-risk youth.

“Many organisations speak about ‘social mobility’ – taking people out of their neighbourhood to another place. I don’t believe in this. What we are doing is for the neighbourhood by the people of the neighbourhood.”

Today, Shlomo and his colleagues are in Nof HaGalil, a mixed Jewish Arab city in the north of Israel. Forty per cent of the population made aliyah from the former Soviet Union.

Shlomo and his colleagues are teaching around 40 teenage volunteers from here and other cities in the north how to build benches, so they can go back to their neighbourhoods and pass on these skills to other young people and improve the aesthetic and social dynamics of their communities.

“Normally, we see some of these youth sitting on a bench with a beer. Now, we see them building the benches,” says Alon Halfon, the voluntary head of community security in Hof HaGalil.

Noam, 18, from Ma’alot, first got involved with Osim Shechuna while he was at school. “There was nothing for teenagers in Ma’alot. People sat and smoked, got drunk, feeling bored. Sometimes, there’s crime.”

He went along to an open event being run by Shlomo, where he met young volunteers. “I learnt skills from people who were on a gap-year. I’m now volunteering with Osim Shechuna for my gap year.”

Noam credits the organisation with a change in his attitude. “I’ve become less lazy. I work hard, and it’s given me the courage to speak to new people. It’s given me leadership skills which will give me a better life in the future.”

In Ma’a lot, he and other Osim Shechuna volunteers have created an outdoor youth centre. “I’m happy to see my neighbourhood develop, and the youth now have something to do in the afternoon.”

15-year-old Lior from the town of Shlomi says he started going along to Osim Shechuna sessions – albeit reluctantly – several months ago, when he was invited by one of the volunteers.

“But within two days, I had connected with new people. It felt like home, like a family. I now go along around three times a week to play football and help build the community. I can’t imagine what else I would be doing in my free days without Osim Shechuna.”

As well as learning practical skills – taking part in activities to revamp the block where he lives – Lior says he has also learnt about himself. “I never knew I could build – and now I’m teaching it.”

An Osim Shechuna volunteer helping a local child renovate their neighbourhood (Photo: JNF UK)[Missing Credit]

As one of nine kids of parents who had moved to Israel from the US, Shlomo says growing up in Ma’alot, which is about 10 to 15km from the Lebanese border, gave him a desire to strengthen Israel’s peripheral towns. “If we can help change the borders, that can change the country.”

Osim Shechuna began when he decided to invite volunteers to renovate a garden in the middle of a neighbourhood, which had been left derelict for years. “We had food and music, and 200 people came and started cleaning it up.”

Shlomo then went to the city’s leaders and was given 70,000 shekels (equivalent to around £16,000) to work on the land. “The garden became one of the most beautiful gardens in the city, and no one ruined it because the people who would have ruined it were the ones who built it.”

When, in 2021, Rishon LeZion started getting hit by rockets, Shlomo put something on Facebook calling for volunteers to come and fix the bomb shelters, which were unusable. “Within an hour, 150 people had volunteered to help.”

They went to other towns and fixed another 800 shelters. It was at that point that JNF UK got in touch to offer their support. “They physically came over and started helping”, said Shlomo.

On October 7, the operation – named Ir Miklat (City of Refuge) – was forced to expand stratospherically overnight. Tens of thousands of volunteers with Osim Shechuna, supported by JNF UK, fixed some 37,000 bomb shelters.

“While people were away fighting, the youth took responsibility,” recalled Shlomo. “When the core values are of unity and leadership, there is no challenge that [young people] can’t deal with.”

Osim Shechuna volunteers (Photo: JNF UK)[Missing Credit]

The organisation has now been endorsed by the Israeli government, which provides some of its funding, but the majority of it comes from donations.

“Israel is a hi-tech nation, and many of my friends have gone into hi-tech, but when I was younger, someone I know passed away, and it made me think about life. I realised that I could make money – or not make money part of my goals. Making the country stronger and better became my goal. Rebuilding a neighbourhood is all about community, and rebuilding a nation is also all about community.”

Although not in it for financial gain, Shlomo says Osim Shechuna is comparable to a start-up. “We find a social solution to problems. We take building after building and garden after garden, and instead of blaming the police and other people for our challenges, we take them and make changes – from the bottom up.

“We teach the youth that instead of using their hands for vandalism, they can use them to make a difference.”

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