"There are Jews in Uganda???"

A conversation I've had often over the past few months:
"So, what are your plans for the summer?"
"I'll be in Uganda, actually."
"Huh, doing what?"
"Living, researching and volunteering with a Jewish tribe there."
Slow nod, eyes narrow, and then:
"Wait, there are Jews in Uganda??

They are the Abayudaya, and their community will be my home for seven weeks this summer.  My goal, when I return to Nabugoye (where the largest group resides) in less than three weeks, is to dig past the amazing story of the birth of a new Jewish group, bred in isolation and slowly finding a place on the Jewish world stage.  I will strive to experience and view a faith through a different lens, one that is far away from my world of Jewish day schools,  abundant synagogues and matzo ball soup as a universal cultural reference.  And of course, as an avid proponent of sustainable development, I hope to contribute to the community in a meaningful way, most probably through work in the local schools.

I go in humbly. I make no grand promises, and realize the limitations of my knowledge, and what I can bring. I'm a college sophomore, not necessarily equipped with the intellectual tools of the well-tuned academic.  I've spent only seven prior weeks of my life in Uganda, and only 3 days of those weeks in Nabugoye. I also realize that I am a guest in a community which is welcoming me graciously, to whom I will undoubtedly owe so much and for whom I already have the highest respect. 

What I do hope to bring to you, with their permission and support, are the voices of the people I meet--not "the customs of the Abayudaya" but the individual perspectives of those really practicing and living their faith, and the ways in which individual community members really experience Judaism in the cultural, geographical, social and religious context of the rural Ugandan milieu. 

Until I leave, I'll update on plans and fun facts I'm picking up from my prep research. (And if anyone has any particular questions or curiosities, please let me know!)

Shalom for now,

Nava

A member of the community reads from a Lugandan translation of the Bible. (Photo by Richard Sobol)