A Thank You from the Youth of Uganda….the Abayudaya Youth Association

From the Abayudaya Youth Association.  A “Thanks You” for the support they have received from USY and members of our communities of their youth programming . Although their native language is not English,  they have worked to share their words so we can “hear their voices”.  Take a read:

African Jewish Music from the AYA

Some great songs from the Jewish youth of Uganda….check it out on this youtube channel !!

also, follow them on Facebook:

Great Jewish Afro-beat music….tell us what you think!!!

Winding down……

Highlights from Sunday

-Watching the process of a cow become dinner

-Closing ceremonies of the 2nd AYA Convention

-Distribution of certificates of participation from AYA and USY

-Receiving the trophy for winning the soccer match

-African music and dance festival with performances from all the synagogues and
individual artists

Monday we will travel to Sipi Falls for a hike, come back to the village and
meet with Yosef, the AYA Chairman, to review the convention and discuss the
coming year for the AYA, and then prepare to say goodbye and pack as we will be
heading back to Entebbe airport on Tuesday.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Friday and Shabbat on Nbagoye Hill

Today we had a very eventful day with many activities that were very successful.
We began the days program with tree planting for the upcoming holiday of
Tu’Bshvat, the new year for trees. We planted four trees along the village road
and built fences around them out of tree branches to keep the goats away. This
was followed by a speech from one of the elders of the community and Headmaster
at the primary school, Aaron Kintu Moses, speaking about the importance of youth
togetherness in the community.

The program continued on with a session led by AYA youth performing very funny
and educational skits about some tough situations they face in their lives
followed by a discussion. To conclude the session, MC Sarah Nabagalah led improv
games for the remainder of time before lunch.

We then led our final program, an Israel program exploring what Israel means to
you personally. The three groups, Gefen, Zion, and Tamar, each received a long
sheet of butcher paper and markers and crayons and were asked to draw what they
thought of after hearing the words America, Uganda, Judaism, and Israel. The
answers were so interesting to see and the discussion that followed was very
spirited and had all the members participating.

The days focus shifted towards Shabbat, as we began cleaning the village and
preparing for the night. We were joined by a group of people from Kulanu, an
organization that has been involved with the Abayudaya since 1995, as well as
three travelers from Israel and one from Australia. As services began, the rabbi
noted that, “Nowhere else on the earth will you find so many Jews from Uganda,
Kenya, the US, and Israel being led in Maariv by a Jewish youth from Kenya.”
Rabbi Sizomu recognized the youth leaders in the AYA for all their hard work and
preparation for the convention in front of just over 200 people who came to
attend the Shabbat service.

After dinner, the youth gathered together to sing z’mirot and show off their
ruach before concluding the night with the Birkat Hamazon.

We continued the next day with Shabbat morning services where we were led in all
parts of the service by the AYA youth, and heard a D’var Torah delivered by one
of the AYA members who is training to be a religious leader in his village.

The day’s program continued after some free time with a hike to the resting
place of the founder of the Abayudaya, Semei Kakungulu. Here we learned about
the history of Kakungulu and his founding of the Abayudaya while also
experiencing the thunder, lightning, and some light rain from the Ugandan sky.

We concluded Shabbat with Havdallah and the days program ended with a dance for
all the youth to enjoy.
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Mosquito Bite Counter

After 5 days, the mosquitos finally get on the scoreboard

Standings:

Rory-1
David-0

Uganda AYA Convention Day 2

Day two was jampacked full of programs. We began the day at morning minyan at
the synagogue on Nabagoye Hill.

The days progam began with an HIV/AIDS educational speaker, along with voluntary
HIV testing. This was open for not only the youth, but the entire area. It was
also the first time testing for many, since only 4 of 9 Abayudaya communities
receive testing.

We led another program about leadership today. Rory discussed leadership within
a family with the 13-18 age group. David led a session for the 19-35 age group
on understanding leadership individually and how you can be a leader in
overcoming youth challenges in the community. The participants were providing so
many suggestions for how they can overcome their challenges and had a spirited
debate on different approaches to these challenges.

We continued the program with a doctor who educated the youth on the risks and
dangerous affects of drug and alcohol abuse.

Following this we had sports and games. Rory led some youth in a modified
version of tennis using some game matierials we brought with us. The soccer
match this year was between the two teams named by the sportsmaster Team USY and
Team AYA. David participated on Team USY and ran around on the field pretending
to know how to play soccer as team USY won 2-1.

The day concluded once again with a dance party for the convention attendees,
with Ugandan music blasting from the speakers in the village center.

Hello From Uganda…..the Second Abayudaya Youth Convention Begins

Hello from Uganda! We have finally arrived in the Abayudaya Community after a
long journey beginning in Los Angeles, stopping in New York and London and then
around 8 hours of driving from Entebbe, through the capital city of Kampala, and
finally arriving in Mbale and reaching Nabagoye Hill.

We spent our first day meeting people around the village and discussing the
convention with the AYA board. We attended their Executive Board meeting and
discussed the programs for the convention. Thanks to your support, we delivered many goods to the
AYA such as football(soccer) equipment, clothes, a new laptop and camera, and
games.

On Wednesday we woke up and began registering the 200 Abayudaya youth from the 9
synagogues in attendance.

We then began opening ceremonies for the convention,
including a speech from the AYA Chairman, Yosef Kalema, and introductions from
the synagogue youth leaders of their delegations.

We led two programs for the youth after the opening ceremonies. David led a
leadership program discussing Jewish heroes from biblical and modern times and
how we can apply their leadership traits to our lives as leaders in the
community. Rory led a session about the current situation in Israel regarding
Gilad Shalit, as well as a session of icebreakers and games. All of the sessions
went very well, with some participants even asking for extra copies of the
materials for them to keep and read.

Our friend Sarah who came to Far West convention a two years ago and our new
friend Esther took us on a tour of the town center and showed us around the area
before dinner, and then the rest of the night was filled with singing songs from
a songbook Far West provided at the convention last year and listening to
Ugandan music before heading to bed.

Sidenote: Elections for the new AYA board were supposed to take place today,
but the electoral board decided to postpone them for a few reasons-
‎​A) they have a new constitution, but not all the executive board members have
signed and approved it, so they don’t want to elect a new board without the
rules set in place.
B) They don’t have the full amount of funding for the voting materials they need
at the current time.
C) They want the convention to be a time of celebration and not be spoiled by
people losing for office and being upset, especially because they have 16
positions, mostly opposed offices.

Because of all this, the elections have been postponed to a later date within
the next month, and when the date is chosen everyone will come back together to
elect a new executive board.
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“This Could Be The Start of Something Big”

Click to access MarchApril_Shofar.pdf

THIS COULD BE THE START OF SOMETHING BIG:

And, It All Started Right Here at STS As told to the Shofar Staff

That is the message delivered to nearly 200 Shomrei Torah Synagogue members by a trio of Southern California young people who had traveled to far away Uganda to help lead the first-ever Conservative Movement Youth Conference on the African continent. It heralds the spread of Judaism throughout all of Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond in an area where, until now, there has been only a small Jewish population. And it all started here at Shomrei Torah Synagogue by our USY, our own youth group. We all have much of which to be proud.

The story is a prime example of positive thinking and positive actions. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, then a rabbinic intern at STS, was engaged in conversation with David Weingarten, who was, at the time, the President of our Synagogue’s USY chapter. “What,” David asked, “could our USY do to help the youth of the Abayudaya?”

Without hesitation, the Rabbi responded, “David, what I would like to envision is a youth group organized as you young people are here in America.” And, as a result, the die was cast, and a partnership was born. According to Rabbi Camras, David conceived of the idea to establish the partnership and went about selling the idea to the youth and adults at STS, before challenging Far West Region USY to join in the endeavor..

Enlisting the aid of the Shomrei Torah Synagogue, our USY chapter began a fundraising campaign to bring three youths from the Abayudaya community to Los Angeles to let them experience the spirit and enthusiasm of a USY regional convention, participate in leadership training workshops and develop a variety of skills (as well as seeing a bit of Los Angeles). Three Ugandan teenagers came to the United States in May 2009 and returned home committed to fashioning a similar youth movement and convention in their village.

To help them, Far West Region USY raised an additional $3,000 to help finance the first convention in Africa hosting Jewish youngsters from eight Ugandan villages, Northern Uganda and neighboring Kenya. With additional fundraising, three California teen agers, David Weingarten (Regional VP Membership), Elyse Weissberger (Regional VP Social Action/Tikkun Olam), and Jason Schreiber (STS USY member), were selected to join their African partners in January 2010, when they traveled to Uganda to participate in the first-ever Jewish youth convention in Africa .

It was these three, soon after their return, and while Rabbi Sizomu and his family were in Los Angeles, who reported to the STS assembly recently the details of the first Abayudaya Youth Association convention. More than 200 young people participated in the five-day event modeled after Far West Region’s USY conventions in which leadership training, an Israel program, the rewards of education, HIV prevention, drug and alcohol abuse avoidance, and the role of religion in their lives were discussed at the many workshops. And, there was fun time! There were varied sports activities, including a soccer tournament and a dance and music festival.

As for the future, the growth of Conservative Judaism in Africa seems most promising, as the partners in this intercontinental venture grow and move forward. The young people on both continents are staying in touch via e-mail. Meanwhile, here at STS and at Far West Region USY, plans are in motion to continue the relationship. Already, the Abayudayan Youth Association is recognized as an honorary affiliate of the Far West Region.

So, what was the most memorable moment of all from this once-in-a-lifetime experience, I asked David. “Without doubt,” he replied, “it was knowing that this was the first time that the kids in Uganda led all the services, completely and totally. They conducted the Friday night services, delivered the D’var Torah and all of the Shabbat services, including the Torah readings, the Haftorah and the Havdallah. That was very cool.”

And as Rabbi Gershom told us when he was here in Los Angeles, “After the Elders of the community experienced the leadership of their youth during those Shabbat services, they all felt confident that the next generation is ready to carry forth our tradition. The future looks bright.”

A similar report by our three emissaries was made in Santa Clarita’s Beth Shalom Synagogue, where Elyse’s family is a member.

Teens Build Bridges from So Cal to Uganda

February 24, 2010

Teens build bridges, from So Cal to Uganda

BY RACHEL HELLER
http://www.jewishjournal.com/ tribe/article/teens_build_bridges_from_so_cal_to_uganda_20100224/

AYA convention participants engage in a discussion about what it means to be a leader. Photo by David Weingarten.
Tefillah, sports, study sessions and even a dance — the four-day youth convention on Nabugoye Hill in late January was almost like a typical United Synagogue Youth (USY) convention, according to the three Southland USYers who traveled to Uganda to help run the event.

But there were a few major differences. Instead of staying in a cushy hotel, the nearly 200 African Jewish teens who attended slept on mats in the local school building. Rather than in a synagogue social hall, study groups took place in outdoor tents. Most importantly, while members of USY (the Conservative movement’s North American teenage youth group) enjoy an established and far-flung social network, many of the Ugandan kids who ventured to this inaugural gathering were meeting one another for the first time.

And oh, yeah, the USYers pointed out — there was goat.

Overall, the first-ever Abayudaya Youth Association (AYA) convention was a success, USYers David Weingarten, Elyse Weissberger and Jason Schreiber told congregants of Shomrei Torah Synagogue at a presentation on Feb. 9. The West Hills synagogue, with aid from congregations across Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, helped foot the bill for the Ugandan gathering, held at the center of the country’s flourishing Abayudaya Jewish community.

“[The Ugandan youths] were very passionate and happy to be able to get together in a big group like that,” said Weingarten, 18, a senior at New Community Jewish High School and vice president on the board of USY’s Far West Region. “They felt that if they could unite, they could create a stronger movement. They don’t have all the same material things we do, but they practice Judaism with so much love and devotion — it was really cool to see.”

The bond between Far West USY (FWUSY) and the Abayudaya youth started last May, when Weingarten, then president of Shomrei Torah’s USY chapter, worked with Ugandan Rabbi Gershom Sizomu to bring three Abayudaya teens to Los Angeles to attend a regional USY convention. Sizomu’s son, Igaal, and two other teens were so impressed with the spirit of USY that they took their newfound leadership skills back to their rural village and began to envision a youth network of their own.

Sizomu, who made headlines in 2008 when he was ordained by American Jewish University (AJU) as the first black rabbi from sub-Saharan Africa, praised the three SoCal USYers for their help supporting the fledgling Abayudaya youth movement.

“The youth are the future of this community, and the future is so bright,” said Sizomu, who interned at Shomrei Torah while completing his studies at AJU’s Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. The USYers’ involvement has helped “reactivate” the Abayudaya youth, he said, calling their visit “a gift.”

Their presence may have been a gift for local teens, but for the USYers themselves, it was more like an adventure. Over four days, they made friends with Jewish young adults from Uganda and Kenya, took part in study sessions, went on hikes and held a soccer tournament (in which the USYers, Schreiber admitted, were sorely out-performed by their Ugandan peers).

On Saturday morning, the USYers and the AYAers read Torah together, and at night AYA members led Havdalah services before hosting a typical, USY-style dance, complete with a local DJ. On Sunday, the teens met for candid discussions of practical issues such as community leadership, drug use, HIV/AIDS awareness and intermarriage, as well as the role of religion in motivating young people.

In ordre to hold group sessions out of the heat, participants brought tents up to Nabugoye Hill from the town below. The USYers ate with the Abayudaya kids, sharing the native fare of rice, beans, vegetables and plantains. Part of the budget the USYers donated covered the cost of a luxury for the local population, Weingarten said — meat from two goats and two cows.

Far West USYer Elyse Weissberger hands out Los Angeles Dodgers baseball gloves to the Abayudaya youth. Photo by David Weingarten.

On the last day of the convention, the USYers gave out honorary memberships to all the AYA youth. Igaal Sizomu, 16, told Shomrei Torah members he was thankful for their visit. “It meant so much to the youth there … so much,” he said.

To FWUSY board member Weissberger, 17, it was just the natural next step in a partnership meant to show the Abayudaya community that they are not alone, but rather are connected to the larger Jewish people.

“They have so much passion for Judaism, but they don’t get the same opportunities we do,” she said. “It’s important to give them the same tools so they can become stronger as a people.”

One tool the Far West Jewish community has been able to share with the Abayudaya is its strong fundraising infrastructure. To finance bringing the three Ugandan teen delegates to Los Angeles last spring, Shomrei Torah sold challah covers hand-stitched by Abayudaya women and donated enough money to cover the rest.

When AYA members wrote to Weingarten asking for USY’s help organizing their first convention, Weingarten knew Shomrei Torah and other regional synagogues once again had to step up to the plate. FWUSY came up with $3,000 to help underwrite the convention, thanks in large part to a letter regional director Merrill Alpert sent out to member synagogues asking for support.

But the donations didn’t stop there. As the weeks went by, a total of 22 rabbis and another dozen lay leaders across the southwest United States sent contributions, which ranged from $18 to $360. When Alpert totaled the donations, she found they had raised an additional $4,500 — enough to send three USY representatives to Uganda to help run the event.

She credits Weingarten with having the drive to pull it all together.

“In the 30 years that I’ve been working with USY, I’ve never met a young man like David,” Alpert said. “His tenacity, perseverance and determination to make this happen — he’s truly amazing.”

At the Shomrei Torah presentation last month, the challah covers made by Abayudaya women were still for sale, along with kippot, T-shirts, jewelry featuring handmade beads and coffee grown at a local interreligious co-op. Proceeds are sent back to Uganda to help support the Abayudaya community, where the average yearly salary hovers around $4,000.

This financial partnership grew from a vision Shomrei Torah Rabbi Richard Camras and Rabbi Sizomu shared while Sizomu was interning at the synagogue, Camras said. But even he admitted he’s floored by the warm relationship the two communities now enjoy. “To think that our youth would come together and create such strong bonds — that was beyond our wildest dreams,” Camras said.

In the end, the three USYers came home from Nabugoye Hill with 12 hours of video, more than ` 2,500 photos and an unquantifiable new sense of connection to their Ugandan Jewish peers.

Weissberger said she felt it most strongly during a nearly two-hour ruach (singing) session with AYA teens that Shabbat: They may not speak the same language, but, to her surprise, they knew all the same songs.

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Join us Tuesday evening, February 9, 2010

Live from Uganda……Rabbi Gershom Sizomu and his family –

Abayudaya community update

Also hear from our teens, David Weingarten, Elyse Weissberger and Jason Schreiber regarding their participation in the Inaugural Abayudaya Youth Association Convention in Uganda last month!!!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010
7:45 – 9:00 p.m.
Abayudaya Marketplace opens at 7:15 p.m
Handcrafted items made by the women of the village….all money goes directly to the villagers for self-sufficiency
We hope to see you there!!!

Shomrei Torah Synagogue * 7353 Valley Circle Blvd * West Hills* 91307*www.stsonline.org

Our last full day in Uganda…..

Day 7

Today was our last day in Uganda. We will be leaving in the morning and will be
home Thursday afternoon.

Highlights-

-Hike in Sipi Falls

-Swimming under the waterfalls

-Elyse gets bitten by a crab

-Came back to the village, and exchange contact information with various teens

-Pack our bags

-See you Thursday!
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Mosquito Bite Counter

While swimming in the waterfall, Elyse was not bitten by a mosquito, but rather
a crab!

The game will officially end once we land in Los Angeles.

So far here are the standings:

David-1
*Elyse-2
Jason-4

*-Elyse also received a crab bite
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