Matooke

 Habari! That's "Hello" in Swahili.  Our Ugandan Feast was delicious.   2/3 of my kids thought it was good, which is always the true test of whether the meal was successful.  I made the mistake of mentioning the plantains in the matooke are similar to bananas. Jessica decided bananas don't belong in stew so she carefully moved them to the other side of the plate.  The curried potatoes were a hit with everyone.  If you're interested in the recipes, I'm posting them at my other blog,  foreign food fest.
 
Uganda borders Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya.  In 1962, it gained its independence from Britain.  According to the CIA World factbook website, 82 % of the population is employed in agriculture.  What I found heartbreaking was that Uganda ranks as the 9th highest country in HIV/AIDS deaths.  In 2007, 77,000 people died of AIDS in Uganda, a country which is about the size of the U.S. state of Oregon.  The median age of Uganda's population is 15 years compared to 36.8 years in the U.S.  I found a wonderful book on the tragic epidemic in Uganda called The Price of Stones by Twesigye Jackson Kaguri.  Mr. Kaguri lost a brother to AIDS and is now living in America and raising money to build schools for the many orphans which AIDS has created in his native country.  Check out his website at The Price of Stones.

Kathy