April 2016 Update!

unnamed

Yehudah Kimani from Kenya’s Jewish community.

Yehudah Kimani of Kenya to Visit US

Kulanu is delighted to announce that Yehudah Kimani of Kenya will be visiting the United States this spring and summer! His visit is being coordinated by Alan Pransky. Click here for information about the visit. If you would like to host Yehudah or if you’d like to ask him to speak in your community please go here!

Yehudah  will attend the Brandeis Collegiate Institute in Simi Valley, CA near Los Angeles from June 21 to July 17. We are delighted that many of his friends would like to host him or see him before and after this program.

For more information about Yehudah Kimani’s community, visit www.kulanu.org/kenya, or Yehudah’s Facebook page here.

We hope this trip will allow Yehudah to get to know new people who want to support his community, and meet and thank the people who have already been supporting them.

Modreck Maeresera of Zimbabwe is in Israel 

Modreck Enjoying Shabbat with Sherman and Melodie Rosenfeld

Modreck Enjoying Shabbat with Sherman and Melodie Rosenfeld

Modreck Maeresera, leader of the Lemba Jewish Community in Zimbabwe, is in Israel this spring studying at Rabbi Riskin’s yeshiva in Efrat. Read below about Modreck’s experience in his own words. If you’d like to meet with Modreck or other leaders from Kulanu communities who are studying in Israel, please send a note to kulanu.org/contact.

“The weekend in Rechovot  with Sherman and Melodie Rosenfeld who are friends to the Pearlmans was an absolute blast. It was more than what I anticipated. Sherman really made a good job of organizing the trip. I arrived on Thursday and Sherman took me to the Ethiopian community center where the leader of the community gave me a tour of the community center before giving me a lecture on the history and traditions of the Ethiopian Jews. After that he then showed me around Rechovot which is a beautiful place.
Friday morning we went on a hike, that was very educative and interesting in the areas where Shimshon Hagiboroperated. We went together with Sherman’s Ethiopian friends and 2 of their grandchildren. Friday: after kabbalat shabbat a group of 25 people came to the Rosenfeld’s home and I spoke to them about the Lemba for about an hour. It was really a friendly group.
Today after the morning service I was supposed to speak for 10 minutes but ended up speaking for about 40 minutes because the approximately 100 strong audience were so interested in hearing about the Lemba community. We then had a question and answer session that lasted for approximately 15 minutes. A lot of people promised to get in touch with us through Kulanu.
Happy Passover/Pesach Sameach! 
Wishing you and your loved ones a happy Passover holiday!
Celebrating Passover in Nicaragua, April 2015. Photo courtesy Kurt Preiss

Celebrating Passover in Nicaragua, April 2015. Photo courtesy Kurt Preiss

Warm wishes to all of you as we share the celebration of Pesach (Passover)! As we pray that all people will rise from slavery and oppression to freedom, let us draw strength from the connections we have with brothers and sisters around the world.
Support Some Personal Kulanu Fundraisers!
Check Out the Personal Fundraising Pages of Kulanu Friends

Kulanu is always moved when people take it upon themselves to fundraise in order to support the communities we partner with. We currently have two personal fundraising pages we’d like to highlight:

 
Gabe Gershowitz in Ghana

Gabe Gershowitz in Ghana

Gabe Gershowitz is fundraising to support the Michael Gershowitz Guest House in Ghana, which will be named in memory of Gabe’s late father, z”l, who was Kulanu’s first coordinator for Ghana. The Michael Gershowitz Guest House will better enable the Sefwi Wiawso to welcome visitors and maintain a strong connection with the wider Jewish community. You can donate to his page here!

Nili and Keith Setting Up a Seder in Zimbabwe

Nili and Keith Setting Up a Seder in Zimbabwe

Nili Salem and Rav Keith Flaks enjoyed their experience celebrating Passover in Zimbabwe so much last year, they have decided to do it again this year in India. They have created a personal fundraising page to help with their Seder with the Bnei Efraim in India. You can donate to their page here!

Thanks for reading our latest Update – I hope you enjoyed it.

Please forward this email to your family and friends, colleagues, and anyone else who has an interest in the global Jewish community. Thank you so much!

And be sure to connect with us on –

Warm regards,
Harriet