March 20, 2008 / 13 Adar II 5768

On his way to pursue his degree, Roi Hayon found a more practical and immediate way to make social work his life. By joining the Jewish Agency sponsored Ayalim Student Village, Roi Hayon contributes to the Negev region's development through volunteer work that compliments his university studies. Through Ayalim, Roi Hayon is making his ideals, his reality.

Roi Hayon is a practical idealist. He strongly believes in the power of young people to bring about change in Israeli society. Through his work with the Ayalim Association, supported by the Jewish Agency for Israel through its Young Communities Initiative, Roi is doing something about it.

Born in Jerusalem, Roi was a top student and went on to serve in an elite paratroopers unit in the Israel Defense Forces. Following his post-army travels through North and South America and Europe, Roi returned to Israel secure in his desire to be a social worker. It was while debating whether to attend the Hebrew University of Jerusalem or Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, that Roi was handed a flyer at Ben-Gurion University recruiting students to be part of an innovative new project to build a student village in the Negev.

“The idea of settling the Negev with other people my age, literally building the village with our hands, doing volunteer work and at the same time receiving a scholarship to college really appealed to me,” says Roi. “Because of this I chose Ben Gurion University.” Roi, along with 70 other idealistic young students built Ayalim’s first student village, Ashalim. At the same time, he volunteered 10 hours a week at a school in Beersheva, teaching math and English to elementary school children in low-income areas. In his sophomore year, he became the coordinator for 15 Ayalim students working with children at risk in the southern development town of Dimona.

In the four years since its inception, Ayalim has seen tremendous growth. “Ayalim Student Villages speak to young people who want to make a difference. It is about reaching out to others, volunteering and returning to the Zionist values of Israel’s founding pioneers to build and settle the land,” explains Roi. Today, there are eight student villages in urban and rural areas in the Negev and the Galilee. Some 500 students are living in these villages, volunteering 500 hours a year and reaching out to over 5,000 children, youth and senior citizens. Roi, with his BA degree in social work, is Ayalim’s educational director, responsible for all of the volunteer activities. “I love what I am doing,” says Roi. “Our impact is really strengthening peripheral communities, and I feel like we are building a better, more socially conscious society. This year we had 3,000 candidates who wanted to join Ayalim, but only enough funding for 430 scholarships. The power of our potential is incredible.”

The Jewish Agency is proud to partner with Ayalim's increasing number of 21st century young pioneers in developing the Negev region through volunteer and social action initiatives. To learn more about this progressive enterprise click here.