Today, after a botched venture at Hadassah--all the kids I was supposed to be teaching were taking some sort of exam--and endless walking, I had a fascinating meeting with J.J. Keki, brother of Rabbi Gershom and Principals Aaron and Seth (of the primary and secondary schools, respectively), at his home in Nangolo. Coffee interfaith co-op founder, internationally known musician, tireless farmer, father of 25 (his own and adopted), master crochet artist...there seem to very few things this man can't do. And with all that, all I had to do was call him up and he told me to come over any time during the day that I pleased. When I did, he gave me over two hours of his time, telling me stories of Semei Kakungulu, the Abayudaya's founder, of the community's development, and of its struggles, both external and internal. While some of the stories were ones I've heard or read before (in the 1 book I could find on the Abayudaya, by photographer Richard Sobol), many included parts I didn't expect, like the line "Idi Amin wasn't all bad..."--this is because he was the one who scaled back the religious requirements at schools from conversion to merely a subject among many, freeing Jews who had decided against education in the face of forced conversion to Islam or Christianity to finally attend school. (The problem with this was that he also wasn't so into minority religions, and in fact forbade them, which J.J. conceded.) He described the plans to use his sizable amount of land to make a large sum from coffee and eventually cocoa, much of which would be used to help strengthen the struggling schools and the largely poverty-stricken community. Given the success he has already had with the co-op, which has attracted the attention of a documentary filmmaker*, and is sold quite poshly in the U.S., I found it very believable that he would achieve his lofty goals.
There was so much to learn about all facets of the community--how they struggled to learn Hebrew (at first teaching it to themselves quite badly, until some cassette tapes from Israel helped set them straight) how they got their psalm translations into Luganda used during services (old Christian bible translation) and how he and his brothers revived the Abayudaya community, combatting some of the same obstacles the Jewish community in America faces in quite fascinating and sometimes amusing ways. To tackle intermarriage, for instance, young people from the different Jewish communities were gathered at Nabugoye in a sort of "kibbutz" and it was there that many, including J.J. and his brothers, met their spouses.
What I found most amazing though, was how candid and open he was about the community's struggles and issues, not just past but present as well. Many of these problems resemble those of communities in America, while others are linked to the experience of many poor rural Ugandans. In many ways, it seems, he is fighting a lone battle, investing personally in the community in ways few others, even other leaders, do. J.J's vision for a self-sustaining Abayudaya community that does not have to rely on so much outside support was not just a dream, but a reality he is actively pursuing, if not single-handedly, way ahead of the rest of the pack.
There were many more amazing things to be heard--my audio nears 3 hours! If anyone is curious about anything specific, please feel free to ask! I'll probably post more bits tomorrow, and he purposely withheld some stories so that I'd have to come back, so there is plenty more of this fascinating man's perspective, insight and knowledge to come!
*If you do watch the trailer, J.J. is the "main character"--the one playing the guitar and doing a lot of the speaking. Enjoy!
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