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World ORT welcomes first new school to its global network in four years
Affiliation of Caracas’s Colegio UE Moral y Luces 'Herzl-Bialik' arrives as Venezuela’s Jewish community works to rebuild after June’s earthquakes
Global Jewish education organisation World ORT has affiliated a new school to its international network for the first time in four years, welcoming Colegio UE Moral y Luces “Herzl-Bialik” in Caracas, Venezuela. The milestone arrives as the country’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 4,000 people and enrols 332 students from nursery through to secondary or ‘high school’.
The affiliation with World ORT will help strengthen the school’s academic offering and raise its profile within the local community.
Students have previously taken part in the organisation’s Ecology Summer School and World ORT has also been active in Venezuela, running education and vocational programs across the country, training students and craftsmen in trades including plumbing, electricity, and oil-industry crafts.
World ORT chief executive Dov Ben-Shimon said: “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.”
She added: “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.”
World ORT’s educational network spans more than 30 countries and five continents, serving 80,000+ students and over 200,000+ beneficiaries every year.
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