23 Adar II, 5782 / March 23, 2022
Dear Friends and Supporters of the Sephardi Jewish communities in Uganda.
It gives me, as Chairman of Sephardi Jews of Uganda Assistance (SJUA), great pleasure to firstly thank you for your tremendous support.
It is very exciting to know that our main Sephardi congregation, the KKSY community, has grown by more than 100 members over the last 18 months; the community now has over 300 members.
KKSY is supporting their neighboring smaller Jewish Communities by offering them their advice and support, especially in farming. These budding communities coming together make what we do as a charity, so worthwhile.
The last two years has proved challenging for us all. Our Jewish brothers and sisters struggled through their lockdown. It went on much longer than expected; everything except farming came to a standstill.
Sadly, our students missed out the most due to months and months of schools being closed. Unlike here in the Western world, it wasn’t possible to educate them online nor indeed in any other way. A teacher that was found to be gathering students together, would have faced imprisonment.
Most teachers lost their jobs as the Ugandan government did not pay their salaries when the schools were closed.
In January when schools finally reopened, SJUA managed to send some of our students to a wonderful new school which is already proving its worth. Private education is key to SJUA’s success.
Apart from education, health is another main factor to be considered. SJUA strives to provide funds for treatment for the elderly as well as for the young. All medical treatment in Uganda is expensive, the government does not contribute towards this.
Some of our amazing donors have set up direct payments to our bank in US. This type of donation enables us to plan ahead, to put more students through education, to pay for health issues as they arise, and to acquire land for farming.
Our aim for the next twelve months is, besides continuing all our current projects with full determination, increase our focus on community building by teaching the next generation of youth and encouraging them to take on responsibilities. All this work is only possible with your ongoing support. I would like to encourage you to please donate whatever is in your ability; every penny counts. Donations can be made online via KKSY.org, by sending a check to: SJUA Attn: S.R. den Hollander 21 East 22nd Street 12G New York, NY 10010, or by clicking the PayPal button below:
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your generous help, and I would also like to thank my amazing SJUA Team, Fred, Joel, Hindy, and Moshe in the US, and Ros in London UK, for their tireless work.
A big thank-you also to World Jewish Relief in the UK for initiating and guiding their farming project in our communities.
Best wishes to all for a wonderful Passover! Mo’adîm le-Simḥá
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