Second Opportunity program is a program of Higher Education, Designed for women who did not have the opportunity for academic studies, due to social, economic, and gender difficulties. The program allows women to get higher education, get a job, and become community leaders.

The program operates in various communities of Mahapach-Taghir. Alongside academic studies and the significant change in their lives, women work together to create change within their communities, accompanied by a coordinator on behalf of the organization. Participants support each other on the road to completion of the degree and the establishment of the residents’ group that is active in the community. 

The first cycle of the program took place in 2009, with women from the Kiryat Yuval community in Jerusalem, in partnership with David Yellin college and Yuvalim Community Management. About thirty women completed a bachelor’s degree, and some even continued to a graduate degree. Most of them integrated into permanent and stable jobs.

In 2014, the “Second Opportunity” program was opened in Tamra, and about 25 women began their studies at the Open University and they are towards the end of The Bachelor’s degree. In 2020, two more programs were opened-in Baka alGabraya and Yafat elNasera, in partnership with local authorities and the Open University.

In all these locations, we have developed extensive collaborations with local councils through our community work, thus harnessing the authorities to finance some of the women’s tuition fees. Since the start of the program, we have also developed collaborations with academic institutions (David Yellin College in Jerusalem and the Open University), the institutions give a discount on tuition and adjust the curriculum for the women’s needs, whether it is professional training or in a program suitable for women with a family.