A young adult-led partnership, grounded in local leadership and lasting impact

On December 14, 2025, Marom, in partnership with Jornada Social (a social journey initiative developed by Comunidade Shalom in São Paulo, Brazil), Mosaic United - Shalom Corps, the Ministry of Diaspora, and with the support of Masorti Olami, brought 19 Marom young adults from Brazil on a nine-day volunteer delegation that marked a turning point in partnership-based engagement with the Masorti/Conservative Abayudaya communities in Eastern Uganda.

For many participants, this was their first time engaging with a Jewish community in the region. For the Abayudaya, it marked a powerful new model of partnership: one rooted in mutual respect, relationship-building, and hands-on collaboration.

Jornada Social is a long-standing social action initiative founded by Comunidade Shalom in São Paulo over a decade ago. For years, they have been organizing volunteer programs, enabling an experience of social exchange with communities around the world. Rooted in Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), the initiative organizes annual volunteer experiences that combine relationship-building with direct, practical support for local communities, fostering a strong culture of volunteer engagement among young adults in Brazil.

Marom and Jornada Social: A Growing Partnership

Marom works with young adults across the Masorti/Conservative movement, offering content and experiences that help them embrace their Jewish identity and connect with peers, fostering a sense of belonging to a global community of liberal Jewish young adults.

The partnership with the Shalom Community developed naturally from these shared goals. In this context, over the past four years, Marom has partnered with the Jornada Social by bringing together participants from different parts of the world, supporting their vision of nurturing young Masorti/Conservative leadership through Jewish identity, community involvement, and social action. This collaboration has become a cornerstone in empowering young adults to connect Jewish values with real-world impact and building meaningful relationships across borders.

A New Model of Impact

In the months leading up to the delegation, Marom, Comunidad Shalom, and the other organizers worked closely with local leaders in Uganda to develop three volunteer projects, each grounded in real needs identified by the communities themselves. These projects focused on practical improvements to infrastructure and daily living conditions, while fostering shared responsibility and long-term local ownership. Through ongoing dialogue between Marom’s involvement in the Social Journey project and Masorti Olami’s engagement with the Ugandan community, it became clear that strengthening the connection between the communities would be mutually beneficial.

Marom’s Israel Program Director, Juliana Somekh shared: “The experience and commitment of each institution were essential to the project’s success. The outcome of this collaborative effort went far beyond the volunteer activities themselves. The exchange of experiences and shared community life sparked and reaffirmed the continuity of the work with young adults from Marom São Paulo and Marom Uganda, and highlighted the strength of working together among the institutions of our movement.”

Volunteer Projects

1) Building designated trash and recycling facilities • Nabugoye Community

Due to the distance and limited access to formal municipal services, most villages in the region lack an organized waste disposal system. In Nabugoye, the group partnered with a local engineer and built four permanent trash collection structures, along with one larger waste disposal structure. Beyond improving community health and hygiene, the project aimed to strengthen environmental responsibility and provide a model that local youth can expand into other surrounding villages.

2) Tiling the synagogue floor • Namanyonyi Community

For several years, the then newly-built Namanyonyi Synagogue structure had remained incomplete, with uneven and unfinished flooring. Thanks to the planning of the organizing partners and the work of the volunteers alongside local professionals, the delegation helped level and tile the synagogue floor, transforming the space into a safer, more dignified, and respectful place of worship for the community. This work restored pride and usability to a central communal space, one that hosts prayer, learning, celebration, and Jewish continuity. At the completion of the project, the group had the honor to make a blessing and hang the Mezuzah brought from Jerusalem, reminding us of our commitment to Jewish life.

3) Painting dormitories • Hadassah Primary School

The group spent two intensive days sanding and repainting the interior and exterior of the boys’ and girls’ dormitories at Hadassah Primary School, an Abayudaya school home to Jewish, Muslim, and Christian students, learning and living together. Beyond refreshing the physical environment, the project reinforced the school’s message of shared humanity and coexistence, strengthening the students’ sense of dignity, belonging, and care.

Experiencing Ugandan Masorti Life: Connection Beyond Borders

In a first-of-its-kind, both for the movement and for the Abayudaya communities, Marom and Jornada Social developed a new model for supporting Ugandan communities through relationship-based volunteering. This experience was not only impactful for those on the ground but also deeply meaningful for the young adults from Comunidade Shalom, who gained firsthand insight into Jewish Masorti life in another part of the world.

Despite differences in language and culture, the group left with a powerful sense of shared Jewish identity, mutual responsibility, and the importance of a truly global Masorti network.

Rabbi Fernanda Tomchinsky-Galanternik from Comunidade Shalom shared: “As Brazilian Jews, we feel like we are in the outskirts of the Jewish world. Going to the Abayudaya community made me realize how privileged we are. We found people extremely proud of their tradition and especially observant of ritual and customs, even when they have to boil water to be able to drink it. There was a lot of physical needs, but there was an extreme joy of living and of being Jewish. Our visit made them be seen, so maybe more people can learn from them and help them grow.”

The participants made the 30+ hour journey to Eastern Uganda to bring support, but just as importantly, to learn from community members about their Jewish life, their culture, and what they could take back with them to Brazil.

For eight days, the group lived at the Nabugoye Guest House, waking each morning to the serene sounds of village life and being warmly welcomed by children and community members who quickly became part of their daily rhythm.

Each morning began with festive Shacharit services, led by Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, Chief Rabbi of Uganda. Rabbi Sizomu made a special effort to incorporate the visitors into prayer, music, and the unique melodies and customs of Ugandan Jewish tradition, creating meaningful moments of shared spirituality and mutual curiosity.

Each day, volunteers split into two groups to continue their work on-site. Every project required teamwork, perseverance, and humility, and participants consistently demonstrated commitment and willingness to learn from the professionals and local leaders guiding them.

Daily lunches were prepared, warm, local, and nourishing. Food unexpectedly became a highlight, with participants often drawing similarities between Ugandan flavors and familiar tastes from Brazil, sparking conversations about culture, comfort, and the ways hospitality transcends language.

Hanukkah in Uganda: A Festival of Shared Light

The group was fortunate enough to be in Uganda for the entire holiday of Hanukkah, adding a deeply meaningful layer to the experience. Each night, participants gathered with community members to light candles, sing, dance, and share traditions and songs in Luganda, Portuguese, Hebrew, and English.

In a place where Jewish continuity has been maintained through resilience and devotion, celebrating Hanukkah together carried symbolic power: a reminder that light multiplies when shared, and that Jewish identity can flourish in every corner of the world.

Building Bonds Through Youth Leadership: AYA Shabbaton

The Marom volunteer delegation coincided with the Abayudaya Youth Association’s (AYA – NOAM Uganda) final Shabbaton of 2025, themed “Everyone Has a Light to Share.” The activity brought together over 50 Jewish youths from multiple communities across Uganda for a weekend of prayer, learning, and leadership development.

This timing created a unique opportunity for deep connection: many of the Marom participants, themselves youth movement alumni, joined the weekend as mentors, facilitators, and peers. Together, they ran activities, shared stories, taught songs, and created meaningful spaces for mutual learning.

Shabbat in Nabugoye was filled with meaning, conversation, laughter, and reflection, a celebration of Jewish youth power and of the bonds that can form when communities meet with openness and shared purpose.

Impact and Lasting Outcomes

The group arrived ready to volunteer, but left with something even deeper: a profound understanding of Jewish peoplehood, community resilience, and the power of our network and relationship-based partnership.

For the Abayudaya communities, the delegation’s presence brought tangible improvements to infrastructure, but it also brought encouragement and visibility. Community members shared that they felt seen, valued, and strengthened by this international expression of solidarity. The projects built were not symbolic; they were practical and long-lasting, and the relationships formed will continue far beyond the trip itself.

For the Brazilians, the experience was transformative. They encountered Judaism lived differently than at home, but rooted in the same values: prayer, inclusion, belonging, learning, joy, and commitment. Many expressed that they returned with a renewed sense of purpose, a deeper Jewish identity, and a clearer understanding of what global mutual responsibility can look like.

Looking Ahead: A Commitment to Responsible Engagement

This journey marked the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term model of engagement: one that centers local needs, works through trusted community leadership, and builds relationships grounded in dignity and reciprocity.

Masorti Olami was honored and privileged to be invited to join Marom, Jornada Social, and Comunidade Shalom for an experience that not only “helped” but created enduring bonds and strengthened the shared fabric of the global Masorti/Conservative movement. We look forward to exploring how this model can continue and grow, with more partners, more communities, and continued learning.

Masorti & MERCAZ Olami Deputy Director Tehila Reuben shared: “I have been fortunate to visit the deeply inspiring Abayudaya communities four times, but this journey was unlike any before. Living and working together in the villages each day, learning, laughing, and building real relationships, was one of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had. The partnership delegation between Marom and Comunidade Shalom created something truly new for our movement and for Uganda, and in many ways reflects the essence of our work. I was honored to represent Masorti Olami and help lead this delegation, and I left feeling deeply privileged and inspired by the incredible energy and work of our Brazilian leaders and Ugandan communities”.

This delegation was made possible through the dedication, vision, and partnership of many individuals and organizations, who deserve recognition: Marom, Jornada Social and Comunidade Shalom, Shalom Corps, and of course, the Abayudaya communities and its leadership.

The Abayudaya communities continue to build vibrant Jewish life in Uganda, and support from across the Masorti movement remains essential. If you are moved by this report and would like to be part of this ongoing partnership, we invite you to learn more and support the Abayudaya communities: https://masortiolami.org/abayudaya

Photos: Tehila Reuben and Cyro Cormack Neto