Ron Govezensky: 25 years old from Raanana, 2^nd year at Yerucham student village. Geography student focusing on environmental development, Ben Gurion University.

"I made the move to Ayalim after one year of living in Beer Sheva, just a 5 minute walk from campus. Although I enjoyed a full social life, I still felt that something was missing. My daily schedule was busy with activities focused around my own academic advancement and personal activities, yet I lacked a sense of purpose. I walked around with the feeling of being merely a tourist in a resort, living in close proximity to the institution, yet with no real contact with the local environment.  After that year, I decided to do something more meaningful during my undergraduate studies in the Negev and moved to Yerucham with three other classmates.

The choice to join Ayalim and reside in Yerucham seemed to me like a win-win situation; I would be living with good friends in a laid back atmosphere, in an apartment I could never afford in Beer Sheva, I would receive a full scholarship in exchange for investing eight hours a week of my time to create something real and positive with my surroundings – two hours of private one-on-one counseling with a sweet 4^th grader (helping with school work or just teaching him new things like chess or how to play a guitar) , two hours of weekly meetings with students from Yerucham with the sole purpose of mutual enrichment and idea-sharing about different projects we would to collaborate on (my specific project is bringing lecturers from the town to speak to the high school students about enlisting in a meaningful service in the army), and finally – four hours of instructing a boys’ outdoor field and challenge course, aimed at the boys living in the neighborhood surrounding my village. We engage in all kinds of outdoor activities, from soccer to rock climbing and teambuilding exercises. I won't lie – sometimes it is challenging and difficult to do the daily bus ride to Beer Sheva but the satisfaction I get from seeing the outcome of our efforts is always much more rewarding than anything I've felt when living an easy stroll away from the University.

Just this past year, the energetic actions of a bunch of ambitious youth (!), had a tremendous positive impact on the town.  To name a few examples, a greenhouse ecological-education program was established by the pre-army national service inhabitants of the village;  a donation was organized by the same youngsters to clean up an open space in the neighborhood and turn it into a beautiful community garden with lawns and statues; another donation turned an abandoned water tower into our own clubhouse and auditorium for live concerts and many other projects…None of these things would have been possible without the ambitious, creative and daring vibe one gets when entering the village and speaking to the good people living in it.

Thanks to the organization’s initiative and motivation to build a student village in Yerucham, I was given the opportunity to cast away my psychological block about living in the “periphery” and really got a chance to open my mind. I don’t feel I had to compromise my quality of life by living away from the “State of Tel Aviv”. Quite the opposite– residing in the village provided me with a peaceful environment and open spaces to be creative – something that I believe is rare in the center of the country.  I’ve bonded together with great people both from the local population and from the association, and I’m learning new things all the time.

Since my move here, some of us have had a few meetings regarding our plans to stay in the Negev after graduation and to settle together as a group doing what we believe needs to be done– living harmoniously and modestly, finding happiness in our goals for self-fulfillment, commitment to the future development of the South of Israel, within strong ethical Zionist beliefs and social responsibility. I think that this is important because it will attract others to do the same – if not from ideological reasons, than just because life here is as good (or better) than in the center.