WE ARE HERE spreading its message
April 10, 2024 by J-Wire Newsdesk
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The Perth-based WE ARE HERE! Foundation’s In My Pocket Project is heading to Melbourne and Johannesburg, following the program’s successes in Sydney, Perth, and Cape Town.
A multicultural group at the City of Belmont Library
Dorrith Sim’s autobiographical story and our unique creative art project are suitable for 9 to 12-year-olds in Years 5 and 6 in Upper Primary schools, government and private schools, and public libraries.
In My Pocket is a true story written by Dorrith Oppenheim Sim, who was on the kindertransport to the UK from Kassel Germany in July 1939.
Dorrith was 7 ½ when she arrived in the UK and finally settled in Scotland. She never saw her parents again.
Her beautifully illustrated book is aimed at 9 to 11-year-olds and affords young children and others a new perspective on the current situation of child refugees and displaced people.
This simple yet uplifting true story of rescue, survival and hope speaks to the current situation of refugees and displaced children around the world and provides a springboard to Holocaust studies in high school.
Free mini pocket books are funded by the German Embassy in Canberra and the German Hon Consul in WA.
The In My Pocket Project has been a resounding success, embraced by all five Jewish Day schools in Sydney, Carmel School in Perth, Herzlia and Weizmann schools in Cape Town, and a multitude of government, private and Catholic schools, such as Notre Dame and Newman Catholic primary schools. This widespread adoption is a testament to the program’s effectiveness and relevance.
In My Pocket’s course designer, Jill Rabinowitz, and her husband Eli, the Foundation’s CEO, will visit Melbourne from November 5 to 9, where they will meet with the city’s leading Jewish day schools.
Following their visit to South Africa in January, seven schools, including the three King David Schools and Herzlia and Weizmann schools, they will run the In My Pocket project as part of the Yom Hashoah commemorations. They have secured funders for the project in South Africa, and are now seeking further funding in Australia.
