Participant Blogs

By Sapir Weizman

Ever since I was young, I recall asking myself over and over, “What is my role in this world?” As a young girl with big dreams, I thought I should join the police, or at least...

By Rachel Spekman

A Nepalese family of five gathers by the glow of the fire. The embers burn bright as they sip tea and warm the palms of their hands. A small child pops candy in his mouth...

By Shane Godek

Day 6 of Project Inspire Nepal gave our group an opportunity to hear about some very important work being done in Nepal. Our itinerary kicked off with us visiting with...

By Ayelet Katzelnik & David Lantsman

Arriving at the Kathmandu Chabad House for Shabbat dinner, the Project Inspire team was warmly greeted by Tami, the wife of Rabbi Mendi who oversees...

By Rebecca Shirazi and Marisa Kwoczka

This morning the Project Inspire team woke up in the countryside overlooking the Kathmandu Valley with distant views of the “smaller,” as our guide Sanjee...

By Joelle Mamon and Brandon Novack

Joelle: This morning we had an early start for our first day venturing out of the big city. We waved goodbye to Kathmandu as our caravan of four-wheel-drive...

By Deryn Pressman-Mashin

This morning, I awoke to find myself in a new country and in a new decade. It began with a sense of relief to finally have slept more than three consecutive hours in...

By Axi Berman

International flights are near the top of the list of bizarre social scenarios. Where else in the world do we feel comfortable taking our shoes off in a room full of strangers...

By Guy Peled & Caroline London

Guy Peled: I remember back in my NFTY days in high school we would sing a song: “Wherever you go, there’s always someone Jewish. You’re never alone when you...

By: Aaron Ganz

I am very excited that at the end of this month, I, along with a group of 17 other young professionals, will be embarking on a perspective-altering trip to Nepal. We are going…

By JoAnne Ovadia

I did not expect to be able to witness how impactful and thoughtful Israel’s efforts are by promoting sustainable change in these countries...

By Erika Kane

Sadly, our Project Inspire adventure is coming to an end. I am writing this post from the Entebbe airport where we are waiting to board the first leg our flight...

By Jordi Goodman

Today has been a parliament-filled bureaucratic day that, I regret to inform you, I will not be able to process for quite some time. That being said, as we sit...

By Patrick Morse

After yesterday’s super long adventure, we didn’t have to wake up until a luxurious 7a.m. (the latest of the trip so far!). The hotel breakfast delighted us...

By Rebekah Diamond

We started our day bright and very, very early - leaving the beautiful country of Kenya for Uganda. We had a lot of luck with the infamous Nairobi traffic...

By Meri Winter

Today was all about the amazing wildlife of Kenya! We started the day at a giraffe sanctuary called Giraffe Center, where we got to feed giraffes and learn about them.

By Oren Petraru

“The United Nations was set up not to get us to heaven, but only to save us from hell” - Winston Churchill. This message was loud and clear during Project Inspire’s...

By: Emily Zeidman

Today was all about the Kenyan women who are challenging gender norms to create change in their communities...

By Joanna Rothman

Wow! What a thought-provoking and amazing first day with Project Inspire. We arrived late last night to our beautiful...

By Yeshi Mengistu

Hello, everyone! I am very excited to share something special that I am about to experience. Next week, I will travel with CJP on Project Inspire to Kenya and Uganda...

By Kaila Fleisig

Hello, readers! As I’m writing this, we are exactly 12 days from standing in Boston Logan Airport waiting to board our flight to Kenya (well, technically...

By Olivia and Alex

As Americans visiting Guatemala this spring as part of CJP’s Project Inspire, we were privileged to meet with the leaders of MayaWorks...

By Alex and Olivia

As our stay in Guatemala comes to an end, it’s helpful to reflect on the development efforts we have been privileged...

By Juan Gilces Coronel & Val Bekker

A theme of Project Inspire is to explore the notion of global Jewish citizenship and how it translates into the Jewish value...

By Eli Katzoff

I want to take a moment to tell you about the Friday night kabalat Shabbat experience I just had 3,519 miles (driving) from...

By Nathan Singer

Another wonderfully thought-provoking day in Guatemala. We were privileged to meet with Israel’s ambassador to Guatemala, Mattanya Cohen...

By Jen Goldberg

International development. Aid. Social responsibility. What do these terms mean? What are the ethical and moral implications? How does one’s culture impact...

By Meggan Levene & Stephanie M.

It’s election season in Guatemala -- but not just the one that’s getting all the international media attention. Our visit to Colegio Naleb...

By Yoni Michanie

As someone who has been involved with public diplomacy and international relations, both academically...

By Clara Scheinmann

In the Jewish tradition, we are taught to ask questions. After returning from a week in India with the CJP...

By Yuval Derry

The book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 1, verse 8 reads: “The eye is not satisfied...

By Laura Handler & Allie Levy

Today we learned about two Indian change-makers. First, we visited a JDC partner called Om Creations...

By Jordan Wainer

Today, we left the honking, traffic, and craziness of Mumbai and visited the birthplace of the Bene Israel...

By Melissa Galvez

At about 9:30 this morning, the Project Inspire trip members sat in a circle on...

By Chad Brodsky

Why was the cow not afraid to cross the road? Because all the cars mooo-ve out of the away! This joke came to mind...

By Lauren Pyes & Jen Brownstein

The Project Inspire group has spent three full days here in Mumbai, and while...

By Emily Kates & Allie Pinosky

On day two of our trip, we got a real sense of the endlessness of Mumbai. The city is home to 22 million people and growing...

By Alaina Pleatman

What a whirlwind the past 48 hours have been! Amazingly, we were able to transport 14 Bostonians and two staff...

By Emma Scheinmann

For a while now, I’ve been interested in different cultural traditions around...

By David Gaines

Last Wednesday, we had an orientation meeting to prepare for our upcoming...

By Lauren Cooper

I didn’t know much about Israel’s extensive development agenda around the world. That changed when I signed up for a study tour run by Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies...

By Lexi Knopf

Today was a day full of passion—passion for the future leaders of Kenya. We started our day at the Hospital Hill Primary School in the Westlands sub-county of Nairobi...

By Danielle Shusterman

Today’s adventure of a day started out with a 4:50 a.m. wake-up call from the front desk, wishing me a very good morning. Every day in Kenya we’ve woken...

By: Cory Bolotsky

As Jews, we are all descendants of tribes—12, to be exact. While many of the tribes are “lost,” the majority of today’s Jews are Israelites, descendants of Jacob’s son...

By Erin O’Connor

Leading up to my bat mitzvah, my rabbi asked me to write an essay about my favorite Jewish holiday. While most pre-teens would likely pick Hanukkah or Purim, I selected Tu B’Shvat...

By Stephen Hassman

I am from Boston and am currently in Kenya to learn about the partnerships taking place here with Israel. That’s a lot of cultures to keep track of, but today we...

By Jennifer Atlas

Today was our third full day in Kenya. We visited two farms and an arts center, and met a former Israeli diplomat who became a Kenyan pop star. At first glance, agriculture, art...

By Hallie Bregman

Three days ago, I left my 18-month-old daughter and dog to depart on a journey of a lifetime. It was hard to leave, hard to miss important moments at home and hard to travel...

By Tami Segal

“Share knowledge,” Maureen instructed us, “because sharing is caring.” This is how Maureen, the MASHAV officer at the Israeli Embassy in Kenya, described Israel’s...

By Jordan Liderman

After 24 hours of travel, Project Inspire has arrived in Kenya! Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta airport feels like a fitting welcome of what’s to come for the Project Inspire...

By Jonathan Sclarsic

In just under a week, I’ll be boarding a plane with my CJP Project Inspire cohort on our way to Kenya. The ocean between here and there feels like a universe away...

By Cory Bolotsky

For me, it’s meeting incredible entrepreneurs in Herzliya, it’s eating the best hummus I’ve ever found in a hidden nook deep in Jerusalem’s Old City, it’s spending shabbat...

By Lauren Glaser

After returning in late February from Kenya, it was easy to get swept back into our “normal” lives. Months later, however, the 12 participants of the first...

By Staci Weber

As I reflect on the last week with my peers, Israeli Embassy constituents, and Kenyan leaders and pioneers, three words most resonate - inclusion, community...

By Erica Weinstein and Debbie Grossman

Shabbat Shalom from Nairobi! Friday night we joined the Nairobi Hebrew Congregation for services and dinner with the community. Some of us went to the traditional...

By Lauren Glaser and Scott Rosen

Following an inspiring day in hot and humid Kisumu, the Israeli ambassador to Kenya, Noah Gal Gendler, graciously welcomed us for dinner at his official...

By Ross Chanowski

“Excuse me, I’m a journalist. Can I ask you some questions?” These are not the words I expected to be surprised by in the morning. We had just spent the early hours...

By Rachel Kohn

It’s officially Day 2 in Kenya! It’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for less than 48 hours as our packed itinerary and incredibly welcoming community of Kenyans has left...

By Debbie Grossman and Kim Kargman

Jambo from Nairobi! This morning at 8 a.m. sharp (i.e. midnight in Boston) we began our first full day with a short walk to the Israeli Embassy...

By Tal Havivi

Touchdown Nairobi! We've arrived in Kenya’s capital city, just south of the equator. Our day began 26 hours ago at Logan airport, when we wished Boston farewell over a couple...

By Lauren Glaser

When I tell people that I am going to Kenya with Project Inspire, their typical response is, "Safari?" "No," I say, curious what their next guess will...

By Carine Warsawski

Twelve young professionals are heading to Kenya next week on Project Inspire, a bold initiative of CJP and the Consulate General of Israel to New England...