A deadly flood ripped through Eastern Uganda, and thousands are left without their basic needs met.

I was alerted to this issue by Hadassah Nazika, from the Union of Jewish Women Uganda. In 2017, she and I launched a social enterprise aimed at building the handicraft industry in the community. This rural, hilly region has been hard-hit by climate change, enduring droughts and flooding in the last few years. This event is by far the most severe, causing one knitter to lose her home and several others to lose their main source of food, their gardens.

Below is from the website of the Union of Jewish Women, Uganda.

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The floods in Uganda – August 2, 2022

Dear friends,

I hope all is well with you. Yesterday a tragedy happened to the people of Mbale, Uganda and all the neighboring districts. It seemed like a nightmare because it had not happened here before. Nobody knew when it was coming, so we weren’t ready for the flash floods when they came.

The government of Uganda is not helping. It is such a hard situation for the people in Eastern Uganda.

Children, women and men are wandering around, crying out for help to the government but the government was unprepared to help quickly.

The local people are helping out by retrieving dead bodies from the waters. Many people in Mbale, Budaka, Sironko suburbs and many other districts lost their property, livelihoods and lives. Houses were swept away. Crops were destroyed. Animals and birds were all taken by the flood waters. Far too many people were left homeless and helpless.

There is also an increase of orphans in the eastern region now. And with the high inflation in Uganda, I don’t know how people will survive.

We need your help. IT IS URGENT.

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Please donate and provide dignity to these good people as they piece their lives back together.

Consider also buying one of their handmade kippot (I do not take profit off of the sales): http://ugandan-kippot.org

Thank you!

Ben Margolis

Hadassah Nazika

Allan Waluntu