The Amuta is the result of the Ethiopian community expressing their own needs and working to obtain the solutions they desire.

The name they chose, “MAKSAM”, is an Amharic word describing the work of the bee passing from flower to flower collecting nectar, and producing honey.

Over the ensuing 13 years, MAKSAM has grown from a homework help program run by volunteers, to a Network of 5 After- School Study and Enrichment Centers in neighborhoods of Hadera with a large population of Ethiopian Israelis, providing professional programming to the pupils and support and enrichment to their parents.

The Program doesn’t dictate solutions, but offers empowerment and responsibility giving the community the tools to develop into a proactive group, working cohesively to better their lives and the future of their children.  This is the only program that has successfully involved not only the children but their parents and extended family members, in creating the supportive framework that has brought about such significant improvement in the children’s academic and social performance.

In Ethiopia, the Sigd was marked with a half-day fast and a pilgrimage to the top of the nearest high mountain. There, the community’s religious leaders would chant from the Torah and lead the community in prayer, praying for the restoration of Jerusalem and the reconstruction of the Holy Temple and for their dream of making aliyah to Israel to come true.  The day would end with a festive meal.

Since 2009 the Sigd has been incorporated into the Israeli calendar as a National Holiday for the Ethiopian community, many of whom travel to Jerusalem where they gather on the Talpiot Promenade, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem for a day of prayer and festivities.

The Ethiopian pupils of the MAKSAM Network of After School Study and Enrichment Centers in Hadera celebrated the Sigd with a modest ceremony, including readings, songs and dancing, in the delighted presence of their parents and invited guests.

The pupils were excited by their awesome task, and their parents were overjoyed to watch their Israeli born “Ethiopian Sabras” celebrating the Ethiopian community’s most holy day with such reverance.