Kulanu Blog

Thanks to a generous donation from the Stein Family Fund, Kulanu is now able to offer a deep discount (more than half the original fee!) on our upcoming speaking tour! The 2012 Kulanu-Cameroon Speaking Tour will bring Serge Etele of the Beth Yeshourun Jewish community of Cameroon to the US for the first time this February and March. To read the original speaking tour announcement, click here.

We are delighted to finally be meeting Serge in person. A talented individual, Serge has been helping Kulanu since the summer, doing great work on Kulanu’s web site, kulanu.org; in the fall he also took on the position of photo and layout editor of the Kulanu newsletter. Since 1998, he has been educating himself about Judaism and teaching his entire community about Jewish practices and observances from internet resources he found and studied on his own. Kulanu is thrilled to be working with this group that is so eager to learn about and embrace Judaism!

Rabbi Gerald Sussman, who visited Cameroon on Kulanu’s behalf last year to get to know this emerging Jewish community, refers to Serge as “a young man who represents an astonishing new phenomenon in the history of the Jewish people and may one day emerge as a truly outstanding Jewish leader.” We think you will also find Serge Etele to be intelligent, warm, and deeply committed to connecting with the larger Jewish community.

Interested in hosting Serge Etele in your town? Fill out our online inquiry form to let us know what dates may work for you, and we will be in touch with you right away.

The story of the Beth Yeshourun community is an inspiring and encouraging one. Located in the African nation of Cameroon, they were Christians until they discovered and then embraced traditional Judaism. Rabbi Sussman says this group’s emergence is “part of a turning towards Judaism in many parts of the world which will have profound implications for the Jewish future.” Kulanu wants YOU and your community to be part of this historical development by meeting Serge Etele and hearing his story this winter!

That is why we are glad to offer a discounted booking fee: we want to share the story of the Jewish community of Cameroon with as wide an audience as possible. Because of the Stein Family Fund’s contribution – and because we are aware that many organizations have tight budgets right now – we are offering you a rate of $650 per event (compared to the $1,450 we originally required), which includes transportation to and from your area. This is an amazing offer that I hope you will take advantage of NOW.

For more details about the groundbreaking Kulanu-Cameroon 2012 Speaking Tour, which runs February 23 – March 31, 2012, please click here. To get to know the Beth Yeshourun community visit www.kulanu.org/cameroon and check out our Cameroon photo albums at kulanu.phanfare.com (or click here to go directly to the Cameroon section).

Please use the online inquiry form to let Katie Rosenthal and me know you’re interested in taking advantage of this opportunity to inform your community about the Jews of Cameroon. Or, email both of us directly at speakers@kulanu.org

Many of you had the chance to meet Aaron Kintu Moses of the Abayudaya when he toured the US this fall, and hear first-hand about the remarkable journey of this Jewish community in the heart of Africa. Aaron, headmaster of one of the two Abayudaya schools in Uganda, shared the challenges the community faces in educating students who do not have enough food to eat, and the difficulty of providing meals in an impoverished area of a country with an inflated and unstable economy.

Thanks to the powerful network of Kulanu supporters and activists who sustain the Kulanu-Abayudaya Nutrition Program, child hunger is being alleviated each day through the provision of breakfast and lunch to the 767 Jewish, Christian and Muslim students enrolled at the two Abayudaya schools in Uganda. “All of us” are deeply grateful for the support we have received for the Kulanu-Abayudaya School Nutrition fund. However, the need continues.

To contribute to the Abayudaya School Nutrition Program, please click here.

The Jewish, Christian, and Muslim children who attend the primary and high school study and play together in peace, and enrollment continues to grow with the schools’ reputations. The school nutrition program has had a positive impact on this success: Naume Sabano, coordinator of the program at the high school, reported that absenteeism and dropout rates have been dramatically reduced since we introduced the nutrition program in the school, and that concentration, mental health, and discipline have improved “tremendously.”

It costs $40 a year to feed one student breakfast and lunch every schoolday in the Kulanu-Abayudaya School Nutrition Program. As 2011 comes to a close, we are determining our budget for the coming school year. By contributing to this program, YOU can make a difference in the life of a hungry Ugandan child.

Whatever amount you can donate for school nutrition will be highly appreciated: $40 for one child, $400 for 10, $4,000 for 100 students – or more!

To give, please mail a check payable to Kulanu in US dollars to 165 West End Ave, 3R, New York, NY 10023 – write “Uganda nutrition” in the memo field of your check. Or donate online through our new Abayudaya School Nutrition Fundraising Page!

If you have already contributed to this important cause, I thank you.

Another way you can help is to share this appeal with your friends, family, and other networks. Here’s a “tweet-length” message you can use on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter:

Help Kulanu feed hungry Jewish, Muslim & Christian kids at Abayudaya Schools in Uganda! tinyurl.com/UgandaNutrition

Thank you so much for your generosity.

Warm wishes for a joyous 2012

hoto credit: Aaron Kintu Moses

This year Kulanu marks its Chai anniversary, our 18th year of outreach on behalf of isolated and emerging Jewish communities worldwide. Chaimeans life, and we at Kulanu celebrate with great joy our work sustaining and nurturing Jewish life around the globe. As we look back on 2011, we can take pride in the depth and diversity of our work. Here are just some of this year’s highlights:

On-line Learning Program…

• Kulanu began to teach and mentor Jewish learners around the world through Skype, email and other web communication. Our volunteers tutor students living in El Salvador, China, Cameroon and Zimbabwe who study Hebrew, Jewish rituals, traditions, culture, and history.

In Uganda (Abayudaya)…

• Kulanu continued to support the community’s primary and secondary school, which successfully educate more than 700 Jewish, Christian and Muslim students. (Yearly cost: $74 per student)
• Kulanu continued essential school nutrition programs, which increase students’ attendance and performance at school. (Yearly cost: $39 per student for breakfast and lunch)
• Special projects: an elementary school library/literacy program; construction of two new classrooms and staff house, a food storage building, and a grain mill in Namutumba village.

In Zimbabwe…

• Kulanu founder Jack Zeller and Lemba coordinator Sandy Leeder journeyed to Zimbabwe to visit the Lemba community. They contributed funds for construction of the Great Zimbabwe Synagogue in Mapakomhere, the first synagogue in many generations.
• Jack Zeller initiated distance-learning classes in Harare and Mazvingo, organized an on-site class taught by Dr. Rabson Wuriga in Mapakomhere, and provided a laptop computer to support his teaching.
• Carolivia Herron, author of Always an Olivia, is working with Kulanu to publish an e-book by Rabson Wuriga about the history of the Lemba people.
• Kulanu paid for restoration of a Torah that will be given to the Lemba community when the synagogue is ready.

In El Salvador (Armenia)…

• Kulanu funded two trips to Armenia by Rabbi Aaron Rehberg of Israel, who founded a Sunday school for children, taught adult classes that increased adult Hebrew literacy by over 500%, and initiated an on-line learning program. Rabbi Rehberg brought a donated Sefer Torah, and delivered over 100 books, mezzuzot, and tefillin that he had collected.

In Kenya, our newest community…

• Thanks to a visit by Ari Witkin, our new regional coordinator for Kenya, Kulanu is establishing a groundbreaking relationship with a small, isolated Jewish community in Kasuku. Ari arranged for several cartons of Jewish books to be delivered to Kasuku by visitors from Minneapolis.

With the Anousim (Crypto-Jewish descendants)…

• Rabbi Stephen Leon led a historic trip to Israel for this year’s Anousim Conference. Participants visited the Wall on Tisha B’av to remember the victims of the Inquisition.

In China (Kaifeng)…

• We supported the Beth HaTikvah School in Kaifeng, including the delivery of a student Torah and copies of Pirkei Avot in Mandarin. We hired Jewish descendant Wong Jiaxin, a recent returnee from Israel, to teach Torah reading at the school.
• Through the school’s Online Learning Program, Kulanu volunteers were able to celebrate Purim over an online internet connection with this Jewish community.

In Peru (Huánuco)…

• Kulanu volunteer Daneel Schaechter spent five weeks this summer in Huánuco. Among his accomplishments were tutoring a Bar Mitzvah boy (the community’s first Bar Mitzvah in 100 years!) and helping Rabbi Peter Tarlow with the conversion of three adults in the community. See Daneel’s full report with lovely photos at www.kulanu.org/newsletters/2011-fall.pdf

In India (B’nai Ephraim)…

• Kulanu worked with Israeli activist organization Adam l’Adam to install solar paneling and an internet connection for the synagogue, and helped them assess needs and possibilities for sustainable agricultural and economic development in the community.
• We co-sponsored a Jewish studies teaching program with Michael Freund’s organization Shavei Yisrael.

On the home front…

• Cameroon’s Serge Etele is the new photo editor and layout designer of the Kulanu newsletter, as well as webmaster of our web site, www.kulanu.org
• As we expanded our reach around the globe, we invited the help of more key volunteers: Denise Yeh-Bresler is our new regional coordinator for China, Lucy Steinitz is the new co-coordinator for Ethiopia, and Ari Witkin for the emerging community in Kenya.
• Summer intern Jocelyn Spencer redesigned the Kulanu Bar/Bat Mitzvah Project program, adding new ideas and resources for projects; we already have several great student and class projects making an impact!
• The Kulanu-Abayudaya Speaking Tour brought Aaron Kintu Moses of Uganda to congregations, schools, and Jewish centers in 15 cities across the U.S. to raise support for the Abayudaya Elementary and Semei Kakungulu High schools.
• Shi Lei, a descendent of Jews living in Kaifeng, China, returned to the U.S. for a one-month Kulanu-Kaifeng Speaking Tour in February.

Today, I’m asking you to donate generously to Kulanu, an organization which relies primarily on volunteers to support Jewish communities around the world. Your commitment to Kulanu and confidence in the work of “all of us” is essential to the success of our projects. Please help us maintain our programs by giving as generously as you can. See below for how to send your gift to Kulanu.

My deepest thanks for your contribution.

The Fall 2011 issue of the Kulanu Newsletter is now online with vibrant full-color photos! You can read it at kulanu.org/newsletters. This issue focuses on the strength of our Jewish connections, regardless of our backgrounds. Topics include choosing to be Jewish in El Salvador, our volunteers’ and visitors’ experiences in Peru, Kenya and Nigeria, and updates on the Jews of Puerto Rico and the grain mill that was constructed with the Abayudaya in Uganda. And so much more!

Here is a sample of what you will find in the latest Kulanu newsletter issue:

• “A Jew by Choice: From El Salvador to Milan to Jerusalem” by Meir Yehoshua Torres, p. 1
• “Among the Igbos of Nigeria During the Festival of Lights” by William F. S. Miles, p. 2
• “Spotlight on Huánuco, Peru” by Daneel Schaechter, p. 10
• “Two Worlds Meet in Uganda” by Judy Manelis, p. 15
• “Accidental Tourist in Kenya” by Ari Witkin, p. 16
• “Growing Community in Puerto Rico” by Judy Manelis, p. 21

By the way, if you would like to receive future issues of the Kulanu newsletter as hard-copies in the mail, just make a donation to Kulanu! All Kulanu donors receive the newsletter for a year as thanks for their support, and to keep them in the loop about all the fascinating news in the communities we work with worldwide.

You can support this new education initiative by a) helping us find more online teachers (especially teachers who speak Spanish, French, or Mandarin); b) donating used laptop computers in good condition; c) making a donation to support this online learning program (write “online learning” in your comments). Know a volunteer or have an old working laptop? Let us know at www.kulanu.org/contact!

• as gifts for friends and family,
• to add diversity to your Judaica shop, synagogue craft fair or school market night,
• for Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations and other special occasions,
• for your school or social action committee fundraising projects.

• six or twelve challah covers from Ghana,
• six, twelve or 50/75/100 kippot from Uganda,
• ten “Lecha Dodi” CDs recorded by the Abayudaya, and
• ten or forty “Under One Canopy: Readings in Jewish Diversity” books published by Kulanu.

The Radio Rabbi Program with host Rabbi Barbara Aiello features Kulanu – its activities and mission – along with an interview with president, Harriet Bograd and Aaron Kintu Moses of the Abayudayah Jews of Uganda.

Listen to a live stream on Sunday, Nov 20 at 8:30-9:30 am, on WLSS NewsTalk AM 930 in Sarasota. Click on: www.wlssradio.com or download a podcast during the week  of Nov 20 – 27) at www.rabbibarbara.com and click on The Radio Rabbi program.

Kulanu is delighted to announce that Serge Etele will be visiting the United States this coming winter. An educator, computer specialist, and farmer, Serge is the spiritual leader of Beth Yeshourun, a community practicing Judaism in Cameroon, Central Africa. He will share the amazing history of his community, a group of families committed to Judaism who had no contact with the outside Jewish world until just a few years ago. They had not met a Jew in person until Kulanu volunteers, Rabbis Bonita and Gerald Sussman, visited them in 2010. The community’s embrace of Judaism and their success in learning and practicing Jewish rituals and observances on their own will hearten and inspire Jews everywhere.

The Kulanu-Beth Yeshourun speaking tour will run February 23 – March 31, 2012 [tentative]. We are requesting your help in identifying possible venues. If you would like to invite Serge Etele to your community, see below for next steps.

We encourage you to seek co-sponsors to share your event. Synagogues of all denominations, Jewish community centers, churches, and universities have joined together to co-sponsor past Kulanu speakers. At universities, Kulanu speakers have been sponsored by Hillels, many academic departments, diversity offices, and student groups.

Past tour schedules have filled up quickly, so contact us soon!

What is required of host locations?

• An honorarium of $1,200 plus a travel expense contribution of $250, for a total of $1,450 per event. Tour proceeds support Kulanu’s work supporting isolated and emerging Jewish communities around the world. (We are offering a $200 discount to those who reserve a date and pay a $250 deposit by November 21, 2011.)
• A primary contact to be responsible for the event and for Serge while he is in your city.
• Accommodations and meals for the speaker (home hospitality is great!). Serge keeps kosher and is shomer Shabbat.
• Event set-up requirements are detailed in the online Event Planning Kit (available soon).

If you would like to host the speaker, what should you do next?

• Please first consult our work-in-progress online calendar to see which dates have already been assigned to other groups, and which dates have tentative requests.
• Complete our online inquiry form to let us know of your interest and how to reach you. If you are able, please list three possible dates that might work for you.
• Check out Kulanu’s Event Planning Kit to get an idea of what is involved in hosting a successful speaking tour event. (available soon!)

Women of Beth Yeshourun during a Passover Seder in Cameroon.
(Photo credit: Serge Etele)

For more information:

• Cameroon Community Index page
• About Kulanu

We look forward to hearing from you. Please feel free to notify other groups that might be interested in hosting Serge Etele of Cameroon in his upcoming tour. Thank you!