I hope you had a sweet Rosh Hashanah and a meaningful Yom Kippur.

As you probably know, Kulanu helps support two schools in the Abayudaya Jewish community of Uganda. 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 the youth of Mbale. In the past, Jewish students were harassed and intimidated at school. Thanks to these two schools, 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.

The students clearly demonstrate their eagerness to learn on a daily basis. 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 404 students in the high school, about a quarter of them walk at least two miles (3 kilometers) each way to school; some walk more than six miles (10km) – each way!

However, the need for funding to support the two Abayudaya schools continues. As more students are entering their schools to gain an education, Kulanu is finding it challenging to keep up our support. Teachers need decent salaries ($100 per month) and training, students need supplies, classrooms need electricity. Student tuitions cover only a small percentage of costs. Click here to find out how you can contribute to the Abayudaya education fund and help cover these costs.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, 766 students attend the primary and high schools, 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 sustain our funding so that the Abayudaya schools can continue to function effectively; it will take $74 per student to support and improve the schools.

Help us raise the money needed to educate so many children for a better future. No gift is too big or too small to make a difference: support one student for $74, ten students for $740, or 100 for $7400!

You can contribute to the Abayudaya education fund online, by check, or through our new Fundraising Page for Abayudaya Schools. Visit www.kulanu.org/donate for details.

To learn more about the Jews of Uganda and Kulanu’s work with this inspiring community, check out kulanu.org/abayudaya

Want to do more? Click here for Kulanu’s fundraising tips! Also feel free to forward this email to your family, friends, and other networks. Thank you for helping us reach as many people as possible about this important cause!

On behalf of Kulanu and the Abayudaya community, we appreciate your support and your confidence in the work of “all of us”.

Sincerely,

Harriet