Volunteering at Lasova

As part of my volunteering with Tikkun Olam in Tel Aviv, I would go every Sunday and Wednesday to volunteer at Lasova. Lasova is a soup kitchen located near the Central Bus Station in South Tel Aviv. When the doors open at 10:30 in the morning till they close at 2:00 in the afternoon, people come in and eat for a shekel. We ask them for at least a shekel. While volunteering at Lasova, I saw the same people come in almost every time I volunteered. It was as if there was an attendance list. You will find homeless people, drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, the elderly, and those Israelis that cannot afford to live and buy food for themselves. Just by volunteering at Lasova, I saw a microcosm of the issues society faces as a whole here in Israel and all over the world. The rising costs of living, alcoholism, prostitution, homelessness, and drug addiction for example. It made me thankful for being where I am. For having a roof over my head and bed. It also got me thinking about what the Israeli government is doing for these people. I questioned whether keeping these people fed is the solution or continuing the situation these people are in. Is there affordable housing for the homeless? Is there free drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers? Instead of giving them fish, we should be teaching them how to get the fish. In this situation however it does not deal with fish. Its a good metaphor for the situation many of these Israelis are in.

Including volunteers, there Israelis that were doing their community service for committing crimes. There was one man who kept on saying "Fuck You". I think he did not really know what he was saying. Other volunteers were very nice and friendly. I could talk politics to sports with them. To summarize the people that I met while volunteering at Lasova I can use a certain line of the song Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town, "I've been to college, I have been to school, I have met the people you read about in books,". I met some crazy characters while volunteering at Lasova. Many Russian immigrants come in and think that just because of my skin color I should speak Russian. Which is far from true. In general, Lasova was a very raw experience. There was zero sugar coating. It was the real thing. Even though I will not return to volunteer there next session, I am glad I volunteered there. It was a great experience and I will never forgot it.