Chabad opening its first center in East Africa

Chabad is opening its first outreach center in East Africa.

The Chabad-Lubavitch of Kenya will open in Nairobi as of the High Holidays this year, which begin on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, October 2, 2016, the Hasidic outreach movement announced this week. It will be staffed by the husband-and-wife team of Rabbi Avromy and Sternie Super.

The couple were dispatched to the Kenyan capital during Passover to assist the 112-year-old Nairobi Hebrew Congregation, which needed a rabbi. Nairobi’s only synagogue, it counts a membership of Kenyan Jews with roots in Europe; American, British and South African expats, and Israelis working in Kenya. Avromy Stern will function as its rabbi.

Chabad already has centers in 17 African countries.

Rabbi Super spent several months at the Chabad yeshiva in Congo as a rabbinical student, and visited Ghana and other African nations, where other young rabbis are frequently deployed for short-term stints, according to Chabad.org.

“I loved Africa from the first time that I got there,” Super told Chabad.org. “In other parts of the world, you might have rabbis chasing after Jews trying to convince them to come to an event. What I’ve found in Africa is that people are looking to connect with their heritage; they call you. To me, that’s incredible.”