Field trips today are nothing like they used to be. Forget about trips to see the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. or Mount Rushmore in South Dakota — today’s field trips come with educational value and a purpose — to change the world. They offer students not only the opportunity to learn about different cultures, but also actively contribute to solving global challenges.
In November, seven students — all girls — from de Toledo High School in Los Angeles traveled to Uganda to visit the Abayudaya community, one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest Jewish communities. The goal was to help fight food insecurity. The students presented scientific research on the cultivation of spirulina, a nutrient-rich superfood that can supplement local subsistence farming efforts and combat infant malnutrition. It was a trip, they said, that they’ll never forget.
The students, who have been studying spirulina as part of de Toledo’s ongoing Spirulina Research, visited the town of Mbale to share their findings with the Abayudaya, partnered with local Ugandan high school students and helped the community cultivate the superfood.
This initiative — a collaboration between de Toledo’s Science and Global Jewish Education departments — follows several years of relationship-building between the high school and the Abayudaya, including a partnership to build greenhouse pools in Mbale specifically designed to grow spirulina.
Spirulina is a microscopic, filamentous cyanobacterium with many potential health benefits. Its chemical composition contains proteins, carbohydrates, essential amino and fatty acids, minerals, vitamins and pigments that can improve bodily function.
“The science students heading to Uganda have been investigating the biochemistry behind growing spirulina, a nutrient-rich, blue-green algae which also happens to be an incredible superfood,” said de Toledo Science Department Chair Yolanda Hovsepian, who accompanied the delegation.
The Abayudaya community, whose name means “Children of Judah” in the Luganda language, is a group (estimated to be 2,500 people) that converted to Judaism over a century ago. The community observes Shabbat and Jewish holidays, follows kosher dietary laws and has clung tightly to Jewish traditions.
In 2022, the first de Toledo student delegation to Uganda helped alleviate malnutrition experienced by infants in the local community.
“Sending our students across the globe to support the health and well-being of local communities makes all of us at de Toledo incredibly proud,” said Head of School Mark Shpall. “With this Spirulina Research Program in Uganda, as well as the other medical science and engineering missions our students undertake around the world, we are helping to raise a new generation of confident and committed young adults who are ready to make a difference and shape a better future for us all.”
“De Toledo’s Global Jewish Education Department is the first of its kind,” the program’s director, Lior Sibony, who accompanied the student delegation to Uganda, told the Journal. “Sending our students on exchange programs each year to partner schools in diverse Jewish communities around the world makes an indelible impact on their lives as well as on their intellectual and spiritual development.”
Upon their return to their school in West Hills, the students were eager to share their experiences and photos with their friends. Shpall noted that they were excited to see the difference they could make, which inspired them to continue studying and exploring. “They want to pursue college degrees in science,” he said. “They also saw the many similarities between Jews in L.A. and Uganda. They were singing the same songs and prayers. They realized how universal Judaism truly is.”
Shpall shared that shortly after the students returned to the U.S., he received a thank-you email from the Abayudaya’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Gershom. “He was telling me how remarkable the trip was and what a difference it made.“
Shpall shared that shortly after the students returned to the U.S., he received a thank-you email from the Abayudaya’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Gershom. “He was telling me how remarkable the trip was and what a difference it made. He told me about an infant who was malnourished and had potentially faced life-threatening risks. After just three weeks of spirulina consumption, he became energetic for the first time in his life and showed rapid improvement. Knowing that this program saved his life and potentially others is the meaning of Tikkun Olam.”
The de Toledo student delegation to Uganda is made possible by the philanthropic support of the Alan & Annette Leve Foundation, as well as dTHS Honorary Board Member Susan Hirsch Wohl and the Bob and Nita Hirsch Family Foundation.
