Kulanu Looks Back on 2013…
Dear Friends,
Kulanu means “all of us” in Hebrew. Please join us in looking back on what “all of us” accomplished together in 2013. We are delighted to share with you selected highlights of our work this year, as we continue to grow:
- With Kulanu’s support, a new two-classroom block and a temporary dormitory for boys were built and two wells were repaired for the Abayudaya Elementary School.
- Coexist Foundation provided $40,000 per year for at least two years to support the Abayudaya schools which serve Jewish, Muslim, and Christian children.
- A non-working well in Namutumba was repaired so residents have clean water again.
- Kulanu volunteers Mickey and Mordy Feinberg spent a month with the Abayudaya community to train teachers, enhance curriculum, and provide bar/bat mitzvah preparation.
- Abayudaya Elementary School Choir received uniforms and instruments from Kulanu.
- Harare Synagogue and Guest House opened in May with the support of Kulanu and the leadership of board members Jack Zeller and Sandy Leeder. Lemba community members gather on Friday nights and Saturdays for services, lunch, study, and socializing.
- The second annual Pesach Seder was held at the Mapakomhere School near the site of the Great Zimbabwe Synagogue now under construction.
- Volunteers Elaine and Irwin Berg spent the month of October with the Lemba in Harare. They taught Hebrew, Jewish history, and Jewish practices.
- Kulanu enjoyed watching the growth and development of the 100 hectare (250 acre) cocoa farm run by the Cameroon Jewish community which Kulanu financed.
- Kulanu provided a grant and loan for solar power on the cocoa farm.
In El Salvador…
- With Kulanu’s help, Rabbi Aaron Rehberg went to the Jewish community of Armenia again in December 2012, where he fosters a host of educational and religious activities.
In Ecuador…
- Latin American Coordinator and board member Daneel Schaechter visited emerging Jewish communities to determine their needs.
- With Kulanu’s support, Rabbi Devorah Lynn traveled to Guatemala for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur to lead the Jewish community of Adat Israel, the first time in 15 years that the community had a rabbi for the High Holy Days.
In Poland…
- Kulanu gave a small grant for rent to the emerging Jewish community in Bialystok, Poland.
- We created a successful online ad journal honoring Kulanu President Harriet Bograd.
- Kulanu welcomed a new board member, Daneel Schaechter of Philadelphia, a Latin America specialist.
- Mordecai and Miriam Feinberg agreed to coordinate our work with volunteers to Uganda and Ghana.
- We wished Katie Rosenthal well as she moved on and welcomed Justina Shaw as Program and Development Coordinator and Jerry Krasny as Bookkeeping and Database Manager.
- We helped Abayudayans Yoash Mayende and Sarah Nabagala attend a month-long program of Jewish living and learning at Brandeis Collegiate Institute in California.
- Kulanu launched a program to collect used Kindles and tablets to send to Kulanu communities.
- Modreck Maeresera, the young leader of the Lemba community of Zimbabwe, made his first visit to the U.S. for a one-month Kulanu-Lemba Speaking Tour in February.
- Abayudaya speaker Shoshannah Nambi, the first woman speaker from her community, visited 15 cities across the U.S. on her recent successful tour.
A generous donor has challenged Kulanu with a matching gift. He will donate $25,000 if we raise $25,000 by 1/15/2014. Please help meet this challenge by donating generously to Kulanu, an organization that relies primarily on volunteers to support Jewish communities around the world. Your commitment to Kulanu and confidence in the work of “all of us” are essential to the success of our projects. My deepest thanks for your contribution.
With all best wishes,
Harriet
Harriet Bograd, President