I am a Shomeret

Reut Kaddar, Shlicha

In 1935, my Savta (grandmother) Z”L arrived with her Hashomer Hatzair Kvutza from Poland to Palestine, after leaving her Orthodox family behind. It was the reality around her that pushed her to take an action and change her life.

My Savta, since the first meeting her Kvutza held secretly in a house in Warsaw, and for the rest of her life, was a part of a group of people who shared the same ideas, the same vision and the same humanistic, social justice values. These all were at the base of establishing my home Kibbutz- Haogen, in 1947.

Growing up at Hashomer Hatzair Kibbutz, I experienced the best a life can offer to a child: surrounded by my Kvutza members almost 24 hours a day, exploring nature and our collective identity, and at the same time growing up and developing as a unique individual, were all the things who build who I am today.

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When my Kibbutz reached out to me in 2008 to open an after school  program for 17 kids between the ages of 6 to 12, I wasn’t confident that I had the knowledge to do so, but I was 100% ready to do whatever I could to provide these kids some of the life experience I experienced growing up on a Kibbutz.

After 9 years running a program 6 days a week for 250 kids at the age of 6 to 18 from all over the geographic area of the Kibbutz, I felt it was time for me to move on. I also knew that we had established a sustainable informal education system, with values and practices that would last forever. 

Then I thought, why not bringing the magic of “Chinuch Kibbutzi” outside of Israel? I applied to be a Shlicha, naturally through Hashomer Hatzair.

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When I first arrived for a visit at Mosh at the summer of 2018, I started to cry - tears of happiness and longing. I couldn’t believe that everything I loved in my childhood at the Kibbutz existed somewhere else in the world! … And the people…. OMG!

I got to know Canadian Kibutznikim VeKibutznikiyot, just like my friends back home over the ocean! People who are driven and motivated by the same values, people who think of the collective before thinking of themselves, people who are spiritually and physically connected to nature, young people who are leading and educating in a revolutionary way, who are not afraid to challenge themselves and ask hard questions, people who allow themselves to be vulnerable and to react to a changing reality with strength and courage.

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Every day I am thankful to be a part of this community.  I feel honoured to continue to teach, learn, and grow with these leaders and future leaders.

Chazak VeEmatz Chaverimot!
Yours always,
Reut

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