RKYHS students heard from Yedidya Harush, the representative for the Negev’s Halutza region, who is playing a key role in developing the area into a thriving community. Harush illustrated for students how the residents, working with the Jewish National Fund’s Blueprint Negev campaign, are developing the Negev desert and increasing its population. He explained how this 21st century pioneering spirit is converting an area that had been sand dunes not very long ago, into a region that boasts beautiful homes, public buildings and successful organic farms, making southern Israel attractive to new residents.