Galila Foundation supports “choosing the Galilee” program.
“Choosing the Galilee” program is a unique program that was created as a result of an increasing shortage of physicians choosing to integrate into the health systems in the north of the country. The program trains medical students during the clinical years of their studies, and enables them to intern in hospitals in the north of the country alongside integration into social projects
The program is joined by medical students from all over the country and from all sectors in order to study at the Faculty of Medicine in Safed. The program creates a supportive and cohesive system for students, in order to consolidate the group into a community of young doctors who will choose to remain in the Galilee upon completing their studies.
The program exposes to the future doctors the many possibilities that exist in the Galilee, helps eliminate existing stigmas and connects the students to the Galilee through social action and individual and group initiatives, and contributes to the personal and professional development of the students. Each student has a personalized response, tools and information that helps them choose an internship in hospitals and establish their home in the Galilee.
Among the special social projects in which students participate beyond the curriculum: Arabic language course, courses and workshops to deal with social issues in Israel in general and in the Galilee in particular, enrichment lectures in nutrition and healthy lifestyle, Student project for the sake of health and preventive medicine for high school and junior high school students to explain the abstinence from smoking and alcohol, Special PR days in the hospitals, from resuscitation and first aid to a range of health issues, social activities for the Consolidation of the future doctors and more.
This year, Galila Foundation chose to join the program and give 42 students who study in the 3 hospitals in the Galilee (Western Galilee, Ziv and Poriya) scholarships, and assist and accompany the social initiatives that the students will develop as part of the program.
The goals of “Choosing the Galilee” program, initiated by the Jewish Agency’s Social Activism Department, are the same as the Galila Foundation’s for its contribution to improving the quality of life of the residents of the north and the development of the community. The foundation chose to support the program as part of the social entrepreneurship program that we have been leading in the recent years. The program supports social entrepreneurs who establish various social projects for the benefit of the residents of the north.