Fundacion Amigos de la Comunidad Golda Meir

The President of the  Fundación Amigos De La Comunidad Golda Meir in Colombia is Lotty Eidelman. This affiliate has organized 3 workshops for the Latin American region of ICJW, and they are also very active in local community affairs.

In 2017, the Foundation set up the Golda Meir Community Development Center (CDC) which provides an oasis of support in the middle of the poor Las Americas neighborhood of Barranquilla, Colombia. This represents a change in direction for the Foundation, whose previous community service project was the Golda Meir High School.

The Center is run by volunteers who are responsible for raising their own funds, so they are constantly looking for sponsors for their different projects. They have been successful in securing funding from several foundations and Jewish families to cover the day to day costs of the Center. They support 180 children, 90 adults – mostly mothers who are heads of households – and 70 seniors to the Center each week.

With support from various charitable foundations, the Foundation runs programs designed to significantly reduce malnutrition rates in the population served by the CDC. These include daily snacks for participants, health and entrepreneurship workshops, courses in food preparation, and a program of nutritional assessment for all ages at the Center.

Volunteers at the CDC run self-awareness workshops, empowering local women and helping them to be proud of themselves and their role as women. As part of the arts & crafts program, they use local materials like Iraca palm leaves, as well as recycled materials, to make toys for pets and other items. Some of these products are being sold for profit to help the Center to become economically independent, and there are plans to create micro-companies to assist with this plan.

The Fundación welcomes groups of local people, members of the Jewish community, and visitors from overseas to visit the Center.

UPDATE: READ THE CDC NEWSLETTER FROM JUNE 2023
Click on the graphics below to download the English or Spanish PDFs of the CDC Newsletter.