A community center in Rahat – Israel's largest Bedouin town – is helping women set up their own businesss.
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Funded by the government's budget allocated to the country's Arab sector, the Women's Empowerment Program is giving women in the Arab town the opportunity to achieve independence.
Some 60% of women in the Arab sector are unemployed, something Rahat is working to change for those who aspire to succeed.
The program is divided into two categories – women who have businesses and want to market their brands; and women who want to work in social entrepreneurship.
About 30 event centers are hosting 20 meetings per week, during which participants are learning the basics of the business world, but also the laws of the market and of competition.
At the end of the program, the participants will present their projects to a panel, which will select the three most useful products or services for Rahat. The three "winners" will then be given special funding for their fruition.
"Our goal is to help women who have the potential and the desire to create their own business by offering them all the keys to carrying it out," Sabrin Abu Sukot, who is responsible for the women of the program, told i24NEWS.
"It's about seeing more and more women business leaders in Rahat, to encourage them when they have an initiative and to prove to them that they can succeed by showing them examples of other women who have been there," Sukot continued.
"We want to tell them that they are not alone in their approach and that we are providing solutions."
"The women think of everything, from the concept to the finalization of their business, and I am very proud to see them evolve throughout the sessions," said
said Sukot.
The ideas of the participants range from design to event organization, sports and cooking classes, clothing companies and digital marketing.
"We have a real demand from women in Rahat to integrate our project, we feel that many of them want to set up their company," said program coordinator Islam Abu Medigam.
"More women have more private companies and know what they want. There is a real change today in Rahat; women used to work in the family business and were only there to help. Now they are taking matters into their own hands."
Rahat, in the Negev desert, is home to approximately 77,000 people.
"This year, we opened six special summer camps in different fields: English, ecology, culture, Quranic studies and values, science, and technology," Foad Elziadna, director of the Rahat community center, told i24NEWS.
"More than 1,000 young people were able to benefit from the camps for 10 days. I believe that every child has talent, you just have to give them the tools."
his article was first published by i24NEWS.
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