The Nasenyi Jewish community has seven orphans, children whose parents have died and have no other family member to take care of them. Please help us to give them shelter, food and education.

Each child is our future. These seven children have received more suffering than most of us.

The community struggles to afford their education. Sending them to school provides them with a safe environment, no food insecurity and education. This is particularly important for the girls, but the boys are also at risk. We want to see them grow to good adults, doing good deeds and being able to break from the cycle of poverty and lack of family.

When the school is not in session, the seven children live under Jonathan Mwosuko’s roof. Jonathan has stepped up as a caregiver to these children, taking them for medical check-ups and keeping them safe and occupied during school breaks. They do farming during rainy seasons and make kippot and challah covers and other items for sale. Jonathan also tries to keep them learning during these off-school weeks.

Here are their stories:

Jessi Yeku is six years old. His father Joseph worked in construction, and died two years ago in a collapse of earth while building a tunnel for sanitation services. His mother then disappeared, and her body turned up a few weeks later. The police affirmed she died by food poisoning. Jessi is a loving and caring child who needs support to thrive and be educated.

Shimuna Kalugana, 8, had a hard beginning. Her mother died giving birth to her. Shimuna was being raised by her grandmother. Her father, under the influence of alcohol, sexually abused her when she was 6 years old. He was arrested and sent to prison, where he died a year later. To compound her woes, her grandmother then had a heart attack and died. She was tested for a serious and life-long medical diagnosis and found she is positive. The community is trying to get her medication and treatment with the help of UNICEF. She is creative and loves learning.

Leah Kavunami is 8 years old. Her father’s whereabouts is not known, and her mother Zaina died of tuberculosis in 2017 when Leah was 3. The family properties were seized due to debt. Leah, homeless, was left in the care of the Nasenyi community. She is friendly and a promising student, however she still misses her parent.

Deborah Gimbo is 11 years old. She is good at sports and loves to learn new things. She is still emotionally healing from her past. Her mother, Rachel, died of Ebola in 2019. Her father, James, a fisherman, drowned last year in deep waters as he was trying to catch fish to support his daughter. Deborah is still trying to make sense of those losses. With support, we believe she can have a bright future.

Dina Naula is 13 years old. Her mother Rina was the only parent she ever knew, but Rina died when Dina was 2 years old. She was brought up by a step uncle, whose wife did not want to feed or take care of another child. Dina would go days without food. Eventually she ran away, spend many days feeding from scraps and old food, but made her way back to her original community, Nasenyi. Dina has a passion for education but needs support to be able to grow.

Sara Uladina is 13 years old. When she was only 5 years old, her mother was bitten by a snake while farming the family’s vegetable garden. Because the community is so far away from any health institution, she passed away. We couldn’t give her antidote as we had none. Her father was then diagnosed with prostate cancer, and died when Sara was 11 years old. His new wife took all the properties and Sara was left to be taken care by the community. Sara loves learning and sports.

Esther Adong is 16. Her mother Annet, committed suicide by poisoning when her husband, Esther’s father, whose name was Joel, died in a car accident. Esther was only 8. Annet could not face taking care of her child alone, and so left Esther in the care of the community. Esther has a passion for education, but the stresses of her losses made a mark on her.

Children at Hadassah Primary celebrate the arrival of Shabbat! Some of the children helped in this campaign appear in the video.