Frequently Asked Questions

AJWS group service programs are planned in collaboration between AJWS and the staff of the partnering organization. Partnering organization responsibilities include recruiting and interviewing participants, managing their paperwork, facilitating orientation sessions, supporting the AJWS group leaders while in the field, and helping participants with their follow-up projects. AJWS works with the international host organization to arrange logistics and scheduling, and has ultimate responsibility for managing the program.

Before departure, you will schedule and facilitate approximately eight hours of orientation programming. In these sessions, you will prepare participants for the program and lay the groundwork for the educational curriculum. We will provide you with some required activities and materials, as well as additional guidelines and suggestions for those sessions. After the group returns, you will schedule and facilitate at least one follow-up meeting and support participants in their required individual follow-up projects and group follow-up projects. AJWS requires that all organization staff and participants participate fully in the pre-trip and follow-up programming.

Planning an AJWS short-term service program requires a real commitment on the part of the partnering organization. Overseeing the collection of program fees and required paperwork, planning and facilitating the information and orientation sessions, and supporting all other administrative aspects of the program requires a significant amount of time each week, particularly around deadline dates.

We highly recommend that you begin to organize as soon as possible. The more time you leave to recruit and support the group’s fundraising efforts, the better. Investing time and energy to apply for grants or other funding sources in advance means that the program can be subsidized and more accessible to potential participants.

Properly planning and implementing your information and orientation sessions will provide space for your group to connect, learn more about the program, and begin the learning process as a whole. When done successfully, these sessions lead to a more meaningful experience while abroad.

The AB program fee is $550 per participant and $425 per staff member (up to two staff members per group) for most one-week programs. Location and length of program may increase costs. AJWS subsidizes the AB Program.

Program fees cover the cost of accommodations, in-country transportation, meals, purified water for drinking and cooking, tools and materials for the group’s work project, AJWS group leader expenses, and host-NGO administrative costs.

Program fees do not include airfare, inoculations/medications, and entry or exit taxes.

There is an administrative fee of $1,000 per group. When groups meet all administrative deadlines, the administrative fee will be applied toward the program fee for participants and program staff.

The full cost of the program (program fee and airfare) may be tax-deductible. We recommend that you consult your tax advisor.

The minimum group size for an AB is 10 participants and one staff member. The maximum group size is 15 participants and one to two staff members.

All groups are led by two trained AJWS “group leaders.” AJWS group leaders are not counted in the numbers above.

Groups traveling for one week may go to Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua or Honduras. If a group is able to travel for more than one week there is also the option of going to Uganda, Ghana or Thailand. While we will try to accommodate preferences, each group’s destination is ultimately selected based on international host organizations’ availability and needs.

ABs typically take place during winter, spring or summer school breaks. In your application, let us know which dates work best for you and we will try to accommodate your request.

On a typical day, the group will wake up around 6:30 a.m., eat a hearty breakfast and begin the work project. You’ll work until lunch, after which you will have group discussion time and perhaps a chance to rest. In the afternoon, the group returns to work. In the evening, you will have dinner, another study session and perhaps a scheduled activity with the host community.

Depending on the host community, you will either sleep in rustic dorms or in a community building, such as a clinic or a school. Beds range from hammocks to wooden bunk-beds to foam mattresses on the floor. Bathroom facilities could be flush toilets, latrines, or outhouses, and bathing is generally done in a “bucket shower.” Once your group receives its placement, we will provide you with the details of your accommodations.

Depending on where you are, you will eat either in community members’ homes or in a central location. Food is usually quite simple (beans/rice/fruit/veggies/tortillas), always ample and always vegetarian (excluding cheese). Individuals requiring strictly kosher food may have to bring food to supplement their diet; in such cases AJWS can provide a list of food ideas.

The group spends its time working and studying along side members of their host-community. Work projects vary widely between host-communities. Past work projects have included building schools and community centers, digging ditches to lay water pipes, and farming. Work projects are always identified by and serve the needs of the group’s host-community.

Study, both Jewish and secular, is a key element of this program. Generally, there are two group study sessions each day; ranging from studying Talmudic texts about tzedakah to discussions of globalization.

Every group is led by two group leaders who are trained by AJWS. They are expert facilitators and educators, and are certified in emergency first aid. For health, safety and security reasons, the AJWS group leaders are ultimately responsible for the wellbeing of the group.

The group will work from a curriculum in which they will study Jewish texts, discuss issues related to social justice, and will celebrate Shabbat in a pluralistic community created by the group. A wide range of people, from the secular and the unaffiliated to the strictly Orthodox, participate in AJWS group service programs. The sense of community created on the program reflects this diversity. In order to make AJWS programs accessible to everyone, we do not work or travel on Shabbat and all food is vegetarian.

AJWS group service programs provide a way for participants to learn about international grassroots development and contribute their time and solidarity to one particular AJWS partner organization. By participating in one of these programs, individuals contribute to AJWS’ larger mission by becoming a part of a network of Jews motivated by Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice.