Half Cakes for Uganda
Half Cakes for Uganda
Council: 12941 - BIDDEFORD
Project Description:
Twelve months ago, two brother Knights of our council went on an overseas mission as part of a group of six parishioners to deliver educational supplies to the Rubanda Solidarity Nursery and Primary School in Uganda. Our chaplain, Fr Dominic Tumusiime, founded the school in his hometown, Rubanda, over 15 years ago. The traveling party stayed at a location way back in the hills outside of Rubanda town. Their hostess, Evelyne, served the group breakfast and supper most days. The cuisine was a mix of new and familiar dishes, mostly delicious. One of the big hits at breakfast was Ugandan Half Cakes. Think of a plain cake style donut formed into a little loaf and you’ve got the concept.
The travelers got the recipe for Half Cakes from Evelyne and promised to try making them back in Maine. After a couple of test runs, our Brother Knights started producing Half Cakes that would have made Evelyne herself proud. Two resolved to fry and sell Half Cakes weekly at the local Famers Market and split the proceeds between two schools in Uganda. One of the recipients was Father Dominic’s Solidarity school, the other St Elizabeth School, Evelyne’s neighbor out in the country. All through the fair weather months of 2020, our two Brother Knights fried up about 4 dozen Half Cakes per week and generally sold them all out at $3 each. After 20 plus weeks, they had cleared $2000, split in half between the two schools.
In Uganda, money is counted in shillings, with an exchange rate of 3550 shillings per US dollar. By the end of the Farmers Market season, our Brothers sent over 3 million shillings to each school! They were shilling—aires! For reference, 1000 shillings will buy a pineapple in Uganda, so a $3 Half Cake sold in Saco equals 10 pineapples plus. Putting it all together, the school kids of Western Uganda are enjoying quite a supply of books, pineapples or other foodstuffs courtesy of the Knights of Columbus here in Saco/Biddeford.
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