Dear Kulanu Friends,

I’m writing to tell you about a serious situation in the Abayudaya schools in Uganda. Kulanu has worked with the Abayudaya community since 1995. As the community is expanding and more students are entering their schools, Kulanu is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up the support of the schools. Students need supplies, classrooms need electricity, and teachers need training and decent salaries. Student tuitions cover only a small percentage of costs; no student is turned away because of inability to pay.

Seth Jonadav, Headmaster of the high school, tells us that students walk long distances to school for a chance to better their lives through education. Of 436 students in the high school, 113 of them walk at least 2 miles (3 kilometers) each way to school. Abayudaya students Isaac, Joseph, and Moses, all aged 15, walk the farthest – 6 ¼ miles (10 kilometers) each way to school!

As you probably know, Semei Kakungulu High School and the Abayudaya Elementary School were created in 1999 and 2001 with the help of Kulanu to improve educational opportunities for young Abayudaya students and their neighbors, the leaders of tomorrow. In the past, Jewish students were harassed and intimidated at school. Thankfully, students no longer have such problems. In the Abayudaya schools, Jewish students learn together peacefully with their Christian and Muslims neighbors, a situation that we wish could be emulated everywhere in the world.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, more than 700 students eat nutritious meals at school and are no longer hungry. More and more students are passing government exams and the high school has been designated as a government testing center. But we need to increase our funding so that the Abayudaya schools can continue to function effectively.

Please help us raise the money we need to sustain the Abayudaya school system that educates so many children for a better future. No gift is too small to make a difference. We need to raise $74 per student to support and improve the schools. You can support one student for $74, 10 for $740, or 100 for $7400!

On behalf of the Abayudaya community, we thank you for your past support and hope for your assistance in response to this special request.

For more information, visit www.kulanu.org/abayudaya and check out the slideshow and video under ‘Multimedia.”

Donations to Kulanu are tax deductible for US taxpayers. Click here to donate online, or mail checks payable to Kulanu:

Please include your email address and phone number when sending your check. Please write “Uganda schools” in the comments field online or the memo field of your check.

Sincerely,

Harriet Bograd
www.kulanu.org/abayudaya
photo credit: joyofcolor.com

P.S. Please help pass this on! Click here for ideas for using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, or blogs to help Kulanu spread the word about the Abayudaya schools.