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World ORT has affiliated a new school to its global network for the first time in four years, welcoming Colegio UE Moral y Luces “Herzl-Bialik” in Caracas, Venezuela. The milestone comes as Venezuela’s Jewish community works to rebuild after the earthquakes that struck the country in June.
Founded in 1946, the school serves a Jewish community of some 4,000 people and enrolls 332 students from preschool through high school. The affiliation will strengthen its academic offering and raise its profile within the local community.
The relationship predates the formal affiliation as students from the school have previously taken part in World ORT’s Ecology Summer School. World ORT had also been active in Venezuela previously, running education and vocational programs across the country, training students and craftsmen in trades including plumbing, electricity, and oil-industry crafts.
Dov Ben-Shimon, World ORT Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are honored to officially
welcome Colegio UE Moral y Luces ‘Herzl-Bialik’ to the World ORT network.
“This affiliation has been years in the making, but its timing could not be more meaningful. Venezuela’s Jewish community is still recovering from the earthquakes that struck in June, and this school no longer has to face that recovery alone. It now has the full strength of a global network behind it, exactly when it’s needed most.”
Deborah Mizrahi de Sananes, the school’s Board President, said: “We are deeply honored to become part of the World ORT network, connecting our students and educators with a worldwide community that shares our values of excellence, innovation, Jewish identity, and social responsibility.
“This year, as we celebrate 80 years serving the Jewish community of Caracas, joining the World ORT network is a natural next step: it connects our legacy with a global vision for the future, creating new opportunities for our students, educators, and families.”
The affiliation comes after years in which Venezuela’s Jewish community, and the country more broadly, has navigated significant political and economic challenges. In June, two devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela; while no members of the school community were physically harmed, the disaster affected many families and caused serious damage to the school’s facilities.
World ORT’s educational network spans more than 30 countries and is active in all five continents, serving more than 80,000 students and 200,000 beneficiaries annually. Across the US and in San Diego in particular, World ORT counts committed supporters dedicated to the organization’s mission of improving lives through education around the world. As an international partner of Jewish Federations of North America, it is believed to have
had an organized local ORT presence since at least the early 1980s. The area now forms part of the West Coast/Southwest region and its regional director, Jaime Fox, is looking to
bring representatives from around the World ORT network to the area to share their stories.
For more information and upcoming speakers, contact Jaime Fox at jaime.fox@ort.org or (323) 966-0092.
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