During Succot, about 800 children from Sderot attended fun activities organized by "The Committee for a Secure Sderot" together with `shelah` counselors. The children, together with their parents, took part in various workshops & activities in craft, as well as with clowns, dancing, magicians, etc.

It is important to point out that many children in Sderot are scared to go outside into the streets to play, like ordinary children usually do. The harsh reality in Sderot, which is getting worse from year to year, badly influences the young children`s & teenager`s tender worlds, and therefore, regular everyday events that anywhere else would not need different organizing, must receive special attention whenever Sderot is involved. It is not taken for granted that the children of Sderot go out to play when they are exposed to rockets being fired. No parent can guarantee that their child will reach a safe place as soon as the sirens are sounded. As a result of this situation, "The Committee for a Secure Sderot" instigated fun activities for the children during Succot, & thanks to donations from abroad, these shows & activities for children took place, which gave the children a feeling of holiday, festivity & happiness.

The activities which took place during the holiday were not only to feel the simple happiness of families spending time together, but also a way to deal with the fears felt every day. The mere fact that, in spite of the commotion after a rocket was fired over the town, the children sang "Am Yisrael Hai" & continued playing & singing as before, shows their courage & strong determination to fight against the terror organizations who time after time try to break the spirit of the residents.

Because of the success & warm feedback of the activities, we have started collecting money to acquire a mobile car on a regular basis, to run ongoing activities of craft workshops & games for children, etc. The idea is to go round the districts of Sderot and to give a feeling of solidarity & togetherness and, most important, to bring a smile to our children`s faces.

The Committee for a Secure Sderot initiated a special day of activities for the Ethiopian community of Sderot. They arranged an outing to Jerusalem, and special prayers at the Western Wall. The visit to the Wailing Wall was very emotional for the people of Sderot and the prayers very moving.

Asher Mashasha related that the evening was a profound & moving experience because many of them had not visited Jerusalem for some time and the reality of the situation in Sderot is so stressful for the residents, that the prayers at the Holy Wall gave them a lot of strength to cope with the harsh conditions we have to live with in Sderot.

Since it was founded, the Committee for a Secure Sderot accompanies the Ethiopian community and keeps in constant active contact with the community and its leaders.

Hundreds of coupons to buy clothes and food that were donated by generous people, were handed out by volunteers of The Committee for a Secure Sderot to families affected by the terror of the Qassams.
The Committee keeps in constant contact with families who have been hit by the rockets and also assists these families when dealing with the National Insurance offices.

A resident of Sderot who is helped by the committee tells: "the help we receive from the committee is a gift from heaven. With the tough situation here in Sderot, they give me strength and help me cope, and receive what I am entitled to. Their assistance is very important to me."

Alon Davidi, the head of the Committee for a Secure Sderot: "We are trying as much as possible to give the residents a feeling that there are people who care about what is happening in Sderot, and who are not indifferent to the situation, but are willing to give a helping hand. We have been in contact with people both in Israel & abroad who participate in our activities, by donating & helping in various ways, such as assistance to families of Qassam victims, founding a committee of the youth of Sderot, and events of solidarity & identification with the people of Sderot.
Thank G-d, due to the success and the warm reaction from the residents, we will continue with & increase our activities.

It turns out that in spite of the Kassam rocket attacks Sderot high school students marked up some very worthy grades in their matriculation exams that even Einstein would be proud of.

The largest improvement in the country in Bagrut (matriculation exams) grades belongs to Sderot`s students. Their test results showed a whopping 15% improvement over last years. This year 61.8 % of the students qualified for a high school diploma as apposed to last years which stood at 46.4%.

One must remember that this is no small feat considering that the students learnt this year in a war zone, with Kassam Attacks frequently forcing themto stop learning and to run for the bomb shelters. This year during what is considered the biggest "threat", the Bagrut in Integral and Differential Mathematics, the alarm was sounded and the students were forced to stop in the middle of the test and run for shelter. Education Ministress Yuli Tamir was in Serot at the time and promised to take into account the stress the students were under.

In spite of the terror the Sderot High school students have been able to overcome the fear and are completing their Bagruts with top grades which shows that with out the Kassam rockets their grades may have been even higher, and Sderot could have been on the map as one of the cities with the highest percent of students that successfully complete their bagruts in Israel.