In response to urgent needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, The Jewish Agency for Israel has launched a new volunteer center for the Project TEN service-learning program in Chimalhuacán, Mexico City.

The initiative is a collaboration between The Jewish Agency and CADENA, with support from Keren Hayesod. The new center draws volunteers from Israel and around the Jewish world for three-month-long "tikkun olam" (literally, "repairing the world" - ed.) projects, empowering local children and teens in Mexico City through educational and community activities. In Israel and developing regions around the world, Project TEN enables volunteers to participate in an integrated curriculum focusing on Jewish values and community, and to engage in a global dialogue on Jewish identity with their peers.

The Mexico City center’s opening ceremony was held at the Shimon Peres Park in the municipality of Chimalhuacán in the presence of the Ambassador of Israel to Mexico, Zvi Tal; the head of The Jewish Agency in Mexico, Ari Messer; the local mayor; and senior leaders of the Jewish community in Mexico.

Previously, Project TEN operated in Mexico in the province of Oaxaca, but the center was shut down during the pandemic. The move to open a new volunteer center was led by Daniel Liberant, a leader of the Jewish community in Mexico, with the goal of assisting the local population during this challenging period.

The Jewish Agency's Project TEN currently operates in eight countries: Israel, Mexico, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Greece, Cambodia, and Ethiopia.