Networking initiative makes Ugandan Jewish life sustainable

In central Uganda, a Jewish community is confronting a problem that shapes daily life more than theology. Observing Shabbat, keeping kosher, and marking Jewish festivals often collide with employment expectations in a country where Judaism is little known. 

Out of these pressures has emerged a self-sustaining community programme that seeks to secure economic stability as a precondition for religious continuity. 

For many Ugandan Jews, religious observance carries direct economic consequences. Saturday is a standard working day. Jewish festivals frequently fall midweek. There is little public understanding of Jewish practice, and few employers are willing to accommodate it. Community members say requests for time off are often met with reduced pay or outright refusal. 

“You tell your boss you need Saturday off, and they say they will reduce your salary,” says Orah Lawrence, a member of the Jewish community in central Uganda. “For Pesach or Sukkot, it’s very hard to explain why you need days off in the middle of the week.” 

These pressures are compounded by structural limitations. There are no kosher supermarkets. Imported kosher goods, including wine for kiddush, are costly. While some community members produce bread, wine, clothing, or agricultural goods locally, many lack capital, equipment, or access to reliable markets. 

Against this background, Hoshea Silver Walugembe Magezi, chairperson of the Uganda Jewish Wealth Creation Initiative (UJWeCI), began questioning the long-term reliance on donations and remittances. “Charity is important,” he says. “But it should help someone stand up, not keep them seated.” 

Magezi’s thinking took shape in mid-2024 during discussions within national Jewish WhatsApp groups. He describes conversations dominated by financial distress and appeals for external assistance, alongside resistance to farming and small business development. “People were talking as if survival depended on a smartphone and contacts abroad,” he says. “But those are not sustainable foundations.” 

From those discussions emerged a proposal to build an economic support structure that would reduce dependence on donor funding and enable observant Jewish life. The result is UJWeCI, a national initiative with an eight-person directorate, designed to support community members at different economic stages. 

The programme doesn’t run businesses itself. Instead, it connects participants to professional resources. Some are linked to mentors who offer practical business guidance. Others receive assistance with legal registration, compliance, or market access. For producers who have goods but no buyers, the initiative works to establish local and international markets. “We aren’t the mentors and we aren’t the lawyers,” Magezi says. “Our role is to connect people to the right expertise at the right time.” 

Magezi brings experience from outside the community. Trained in information technology, he is completing a Master of Business Administration at Makerere University. During his undergraduate studies, he led innovation initiatives that helped students develop business ideas into functioning enterprises. He says those lessons informed the structure of the UJWeCI. 

The initiative is also shaped by Uganda’s Jewish history. Jewish life in the country dates back to the early 20th century, particularly among the Abayudaya community in the east. That community once had economic stability, but Judaism was banned under the regime of Idi Amin in the 1970s. Observance became illegal, and many Jews abandoned public practice or left the country. “The economic damage was severe,” Magezi says. “Even after the ban ended, recovery was slow. That history still affects us.” 

Today, Uganda’s Jewish population remains small and economically uneven. Magezi describes a wide gap between those who are financially secure and those living below the poverty line. The programme aims to narrow that gap by focusing on activities that can generate steady income while accommodating Jewish law. 

Agriculture is a priority, as are small-scale manufacturing and services. The initiative also considers religious requirements, such as ensuring that clothing production complies with Jewish law or that food-related enterprises meet kashrut standards. 

Research has played a central role in shaping the programme. Since August 2024, the directorate has conducted feasibility studies and visited Jewish communities across Uganda to assess needs and opportunities. The findings informed a framework that is now being presented to communities nationwide. 

Though the programme originated in central Uganda, it is intended to operate countrywide. Committees include members from different regions, including Mbale, and consultations continue with local leaders. Recent presentations to national Jewish forums have generated interest from communities facing similar challenges. 

For Lawrence, the link between economic stability and religious observance is clear. “If people are sustained properly, then we are able to keep Judaism,” he says. “If not, it becomes difficult.” The initiative is deliberately low-profile. There’s no central fundraising campaign and no public figurehead. Magezi describes it as a quiet effort focused on systems rather than personalities. 

Success, he says, will be measured by outcomes rather than visibility. “We want people to live as Jews without constant struggle,” Lawrence says. “Not by asking for special treatment, but by standing on our own.” 

In a country where Judaism is often unfamiliar, the programme represents an attempt to secure religious continuity through economic agency. By addressing livelihoods first, the community hopes to create the conditions under which Jewish life can be sustained on its own terms.