A budget of $38,956,000 for 1975, the largest in ORT’s history, was approved today by the American ORT Federation at the conclusion of its three-day 53rd annual National Conference meeting at the Hotel Americana. To meet the rising needs for the ORT services, and the inflationary spiral throughout the world, the conference found it necessary to raise ORT expenditures by over $3,956,000 as compared with last year’s expenditures of almost $38,000,000.
Dr. William Haber, outgoing president, noted that about 60 percent of the budget, over $22,000,000 was earmarked for Israel ORT programs, There are 84 schools with over 46,000 students and a teaching staff of 2,800 in the ORT network, largest of its kind in the country. In all, over 72,000 youth and adults in 24 countries are expected to attend over 800 ORT job training, vocational education and refugee programs this year.
President Ford, in a letter to Dr. Haber, praised ORT “for its vital contribution to the rehabilitation of refugees and displaced persons in many countries throughout the world. Time has not diminished the necessity for your important work,” the President said, “nor has it dulled the vigor with which you approach the challenge of lifting people from poverty and deprivation.”
12% INCREASE IN ORT ACTIVITIES
Max A. Braude, of Geneva, Director of ORT Overseas Operations, predicted an expansion of ORT activities in 1976 of about 12 percent, “The largest part of this increase,” he told the 600 delegates “consists of additional students in Israel, 1,000 of them in the enlarged network of ORT technical colleges.” Most of the 500,000 Jews who used to live in North Africa have left, largely for resettlement in Israel and France, Braude noted, ORT has closed its programs in Algeria and Tunisia, but continues a limited program in Morocco, where it still serves 1,300 out of a total Jewish population of 20,000 Substantial ORT programs are in operation in Iran and India.
Braude reported that about 300,000 North African Jews, who have settled in France in the past decade, are in the main untrained in modern skills. He said they present a real challenge to ORT to make them economically self-sufficient. ORT will spend some $10 million in France this year, whose schools had enrollment last year of about 6,000 persons. About $1 million will be spent in South America, about half of that in Argentina, and the balance in Brazil, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Braude reported that of the almost 46,000 being trained vocationally in Israel, 31,678 are youth between 18 and 19 years of age in full times ORT high schools, Almost 8,500 are adults many enrolled in the eight ORT technical colleges, About 5,630 youth are engaged in work-study apprenticeship programs. He announced plans to open three new technical junior colleges in Israel, and the completion during 1975 of Phase One of the vast complex of the ORT school of Engineering now being built on the hebrew University campus in Jerusalem.
Additional school buildings are also being constructed in Lyons, France, as well as in Teheran, which is the center of an ORT program serving the youth of this Jewish community of some 80,000, Brande also pointed out the recent growth of the ORT operation Rome, where Russian emigres not going to Israel, spend an average of from six to eight weeks before plans are made for their final settlement. Almost 3,700 Russian Jews spent preparatory periods of study in the Rome ORT way station last year. Generally, the Rome school has an enrollment of about 400, he said.
In a dollars and cents evaluation of what ORT means to its trainees, Braude estimated that the almost 20,000 who graduated ORT institution last June as skilled technicians will earn about $40,000,000 in their first year of work, with a rapid progression of earnings that are available for trained personnel.
REPORT ON ORT TRAINING CENTERS
Edward Schneider of Brooklyn, New York, chairman of the ORT Technical Assistance Program, who was elected assistant treasurer, reported on its non-sectarian undertakings in behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID) and other governments including Switzerland, Denmark and Canada. In Chile, a training center has been set up under ORT supervision to train refrigeration and food preservation technicians, In Colombia, there is a special six-year project to train precision mechanics through a government apprenticeship training program.
The Canadians are supporting a training center on the Ivory Coast for training of maintenance personnel for heavy road and agricultural equipment workers. In Nigeria, there are pilot programs for training technicians in housing. The World Bank supports a training program for the 3,6000 personnel of the Iranian Ports and Shipping Organization. In Niger, ORT specialists conduct training programs to upgrade nurses, midwives and para-medical personnel which the U.S. finances through AID.
“This utilization of ORT techniques, and technicians.” said Schneider, “is a testimonial to the extent that various governmental authorities show their approbation of services developed over the years by ORT.” The American ORT Federation, which now has 130,000 members, was founded in 1922. It receives its funds from membership activities and from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a beneficiary of the joint campaigns of the Federation and Welfare Funds throughout the country and the United Jewish Appeal.
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