The Ayalim Association, collaborating with KKL-JNF and the Sderot Municipality, is overhauling its student village in Sderot, severely damaged in the October 7 attack. It provides subsidized rent and cultural activities. With a NIS 7 million investment, the upgrade aims to restore and fortify the Western Negev.
Established a decade ago, the Ayalim Association's student village was a bustling hub for 256 male and female students. On Oct. 7, during Simchat Torah celebrations, students found themselves trapped in their apartments amid incessant gunshots.
On Oct. 8, the association evacuated village members to Dead Sea hotels, running educational programs for Sderot's children and youth. During the "Iron Swords" war, the village sustained a direct hit, severely damaging local infrastructure and rendering dozens of apartments uninhabitable.
In response, and with Sderot's return to normalcy, the Ayalim Association opted to revamp all fatally damaged village infrastructures and renovate directly impacted apartments. This initiative aims to create an attractive student complex meeting their needs.
As part of the initiative, a community garden was established in the village, featuring "parklets" with both mobile and static sitting areas, shared outdoor work tables, and variable seating benches. Additionally, a new bar and café will be constructed at the village's center, providing students with spacious and pleasant workspaces.
Furthermore, the association, in collaboration with KKL-JNF and the Sderot Municipality, devised a strategic plan to entice students back to the city's village. This plan includes offering subsidized rent during degree studies through a scholarship program, contingent upon significant community contributions in Sderot and its environs.
Moreover, as outlined in the plan, Ayalim's student village in Sderot is poised to become an appealing focal point for young residents. This transformation will occur through the establishment of a network of cultural courtyards, in partnership with the Sderot Municipality, culminating in an urban cultural center at the heart of the village, seamlessly integrating local businesses.
"Until October 7, our village in Sderot was a living and vibrant center for students who chose to live and work in the city," according to Sigal Barzilai, CEO of the Ayalim Association.
"The move that Ayalim is now leading here together with the municipality of Sderot and KKL-JNF is another significant step on the way to strengthening the Western Negev and the city of Sderot in particular. We believe that opening the village to more and more young people who will come to live in it and creating a vibrant cultural scene is the most appropriate Zionist answer to the crisis the city has experienced."
Yifat Ovadia Loski, chairman of KKL-JNF, emphasized, "The restoration of the Western Negev is the most important Zionist task that is currently on the agenda. We help in a variety of ways and one of them is the cooperation with the Ayalim Association and the municipality of Sderot in this important project. We are here for the South and the North, and we will continue to work for the strengthening and development of the State of Israel after the war."
Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi affirmed, "The fruitful cooperation between the municipality and the youth center for the Ayalim movement and KKL-JNF is one of the important pillars of strengthening the village and intensifying the activity in it with the aim of revitalizing it and strengthening the city as well as bringing the students back "home" and turning the village complex into the front yard of cultural and leisure life.
"Our student village is the beating heart of the academic world in the region, and it is living proof of the potential that lies in Sderot and the surrounding area," Davidi said. "It creates a young, strong and cohesive community already during the study period and the students who are members of it meet the urban essence, join it and continue to live here even after the study period.
"Every male and female student in the village takes part in social action in the city, and they are a strengthening and integrating force that manages to positively influence the reality of life in the city."