about us
The Ugandan Jewish communities of KKSY (Kahal Kadosh She’erit Yisrael) and its sister congregations (KKMI: Kahal Kadosh Mikweh Yisrael, and KKTT: Kahal Kadosh Talmud Torah) consist of well over 300 people, mostly near the city of Mbale, East Uganda. This subgroup of Abayudaya (meaning “Jews” in the Luganda language) is unique in that they are Orthodox Ugandan Jews who practice Sephardic Judaism.
For over 20 years, SJUA has been helping these fledgling communities build their Jewish identities and, in close cooperation with Jewish Response Uganda (JRU), to develop their general lives through innovative agriculture, health care, education, etc. The non-religious programs not only benefit the Abayudayan Jews, but also their Christians and Muslims neighbors, with whom the Jewish communities have a good relationship. We believe that being good Jews, first-and-foremost, means being good people, which transcends religious and tribal barriers.
As for the SJUA team, it is made up of volunteers from all over the world… none of whom are paid! To learn more about some of our team members, check our Meet the Team page. To become involved in the mission to aid Abayudayan Jewry, please see our Donate Now and Contact pages.
Building proud and fully functioning communities
Our goal is to help the Sephardi Jewish people of Uganda build proud and fully functioning communities. The main community is called Kahal Kadosh She’erit Yisrael (KKSY), which means “Holy Congregation Remnant of Israel”, and there are several sister congregations, all located in the area around the town of Mbale. Besides helping them to grow their religious identity, our goal is also to help these families to become economically and socially sustainable. For this purpose, SJUA works closely together with Jewish Response Uganda (JRU), which coordinates agricultural innovation, medical aid, vocational training, and education in general.
Of course, Jews do not exist in the vacuum, and naturally, many of these projects will not only benefit our Jewish brothers and sister, but also their non-Jewish neighbors