East Africa experienced a severe drought. Water supplies and food production were low and placed millions at risk of starvation. Stephen O’Brien, Emergency Relief Coordinator of the United Nations called the famine ‘the largest humanitarian crisis since the creation of the U.N.” Most Ugandans are subsistence farmers who are at the mercy of the harvest in order to feed their families. Funds were raised to not only provide emergency food relief, but also to improve agricultural practices and long-term food management, including collecting water, installing drip-irrigation systems, and storing food to provide nutrition, improve the local economy, and build community stability into the future.
2017
All of these efforts have significantly contributed to achieving the goal of greater visibility of the Abayudaya, including official recognition as Jews by the Jewish Agency in Israel in Spring 2017. The community’s struggle for recognition by Israel’s Ministry of the Interior continues.
Gershom Sizomu again entered the race for Uganan Parliament. Gershom is a relentless optimist and a man of action. He doesn’t subscribe to perpetuating negative troupes of oppression and negativity. Having grown up under the reign of Idi Amin, he understands the importance of democracy and using political power to enhance development, peace and friendship. “I could have chosen to stay in the United States,” he explains, “but here in Africa we have important work to do and we must do it together.” He has faith not only in God but in the people of Uganda, and Rabbi Gershom Sizomu reported on Sunday February 20, 2016 “I’m happy to inform you that I was announced winner of the Bungokho north seat for Uganda parliament. The contest was very close and the loser is petitioning court claiming that there were some irregularities. I thank you so much for your support and for believing in me.” His opponent lost his case.
2016
A new Synagogue & Community Center is part of the strategic vision to ensure the health and security of the Abayudaya Jews of Uganda for generations to come. In addition to religious worship and lifecycle events, the community center will provide social services that benefit the entire community: 1) Most Ugandans are subsistence farmers who are at the mercy of the harvest in order to feed their families. There is a critical need for to store food for the time of the year when food is scarce. The Community Center will include space where community members can store surplus crops; 2) Across the world women are faced with the universal challenge of balancing education and work with having a family. In Uganda the concept of institutional childcare is still new. A Childcare Center will both ensure the active participation of women in the economy and provide pre–school children with access to a safe educational environment; and 3) Building Jewish community in Africa requires local training. The Community Center will provide space for the Abayudaya Yeshiva and eo allow students to study with Rabbi Sizomu.
Gershom Sizomu is proud that he built a coalition of Christians, Muslims and Jews to support running for election to the Ugangan Parliament. He won favor with the residents of Bungokho North Mbale district by focusing on accountability, development and his vision of religious tolerance as the foundation of the future of Uganda. Although he was the frontrunner leading up to the election, Rabbi Sizomu lost in the official ballot count. At the behest of his supporters, he is challenging the official results and collecting evidence documenting the ballot stuffing, violence, and other irregularities. Like others committed to true democracy in Africa, Rabbi Sizomu and his followers are non-violent in their attempts to change the political system, although he lost and the case was settled.
2008
Sizomu studied to be at rabbi at the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and after five years, he returned to Uganda where he was formally ordained. He returned to Uganda to continue his goal of bringing the Ugandan community into mainstream Jewish life and to open a Yeshiva to train teachers and rabbis to serve Jewish communities throughout Africa. The festive installation was preceded by a two-day-long Beit Din (religious court), in which some 250 individuals, who had been living as Jews, were formally converted into Judaism.
Be’chol Lashon built the Abayudaya guest house to capture a desperately needed stream of revenue given the expanding tourism. The Abayudaya community members had been hosting individuals in their homes, providing food and lodging without compensation. The guest house and other projects provide business opportunities that help movethe community towards economic self-sufficiency. Another economic development project is Abayudaya Crafts made by the women including jewelry and kippot. The jewelry is made from recycled magazine beads strung with colorful wood or elegant metal accent beads. The women take a tremendous sense of personal accomplishment and pride knowing the work they do helps their families and their community.
At the same time, the report revealed distributing mosquito nets was another critical component of disease prevention. Thousands of mosquito nets have been purchased and distributed through the local synagogues and a constant supply of mosquito nets is needed to replace those that are old and/or have holes. A 2007 study featured in the New York Times cites “…insecticide-filled nets, when used by 80% or more of a village, create a barrier that kills or drives off mosquitoes, protecting everyone in the area, including those without nets…” Overall, the wells and tap stands have had a significant impact on reducing the mortality rate.
Education about preventing disease significantly reduces a variety of health concerns, particularly malaria, the primary cause of death in Africa. The feasibility report revealed that the only available source of clean water was from wells located long distances from the villages, and the villagers often resorted to getting water from polluted ditches, lakes, etc. Additionally, women and girls were primarily responsible for getting water from the wells and carrying it back to their homes in “jerry cans” or 20 kgs (44lb) water containers. Water, a basic human right, is at the heart of a daily crisis faced by millions of the world’s most vulnerable people, therefore, the first step was providing clean water. Be’chol Lashon launched the Abayudaya Community Health & Development Plan in March 2007 with the drilling of the first well in Nabagoye, followed by Namanyoni, Nangolo, Nasenyi and Namutumba.
It was the dream of Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, the current Abayudaya leader, to better understand ancient and modern Judaism and connect his community with the global Jewish people. Through the support of a Be’chol Lashon Fellowship, Rabbi Sizomu attended the five-year Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, including 1-year spent in Israel.
Even though the Abayudaya regard themselves as Jews, they realized that their isolation from the Jewish world was both dangerous and an obstacle to gaining a deeper understanding of Judaism. Beginning in the spring of 2002, at the community’s request, four Conservative rabbis from the United States and one from Israel joined the community’s spiritual leader, Gershom Sizomu, in supervising the conversion or “affirmation” of most of Uganda’s Jews in the community’s mikvah, a process that continues today. In 2002, Gershom Sizomu attended the Be’chol Lashon International Think Tank for Jewish community leaders around the world. Sizomu and the democratically elected Abayudaya Executive Council requested that Be’chol Lashon help with long-range planning and financial resource development.
After the fall of Amin in 1979, the remnants of the Abayudaya community gathered to rebuild the community. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, grandson of community elder “Rabbi” Samson, lives near the Moses Synagogue in the village of Nabagogye which he and others from the community’s early 1980s “Kibbutz movement” built with their own hands. He was youth leader of the Abayudaya community from 1988 to 1998. Their goal was to gather what was left of the Abayudaya community back together after the devastating reign of Idi Amin Dada ended in 1979.
The Abayudaya, whose tribal name means “People of Judah,” trace their Jewish origins to the turn of the twentieth century. The Abayudaya began their journey to Judaism under the leadership of Semei Kakungulu, a powerful leader who was selected to be a Christian missionary for the British. However, Kakungulu favored the Hebrew Bible and in 1919 the community began practicing Judaism. After Kakungulu’s death in 1928, some members drifted away. In 1971, Idi Amin Dada came to power, and banned Jewish practice. Many in the community were forced to convert to other religions.
