Heritage: KS3 Commended
Safiyyah in Year 8 speaks of her love for her Ugandan and Nigerian heritage.
WHERE I AM FROM
I was born in England but my parents are from Uganda and Nigeria. Uganda and Nigeria are both in Africa, but Uganda is in East Africa, next to Kenya, and Nigeria is in West Africa, next to Ghana. They eat different styles of food; most Nigerian food consists of rice and stew which contain loads of chilli and meats. In Ugandan food, there are more beans, lentils and maize and less meat. My favourite Nigerian food is Ogbono with pounded yam. It isn't very spicy so I recommend you try it! I also like Jollof rice, which is very spicy, but everyone makes it differently (personally, I think my mum makes the best, although she isn't even from Nigeria). Jollof is normally served with a spicy stew and plantain. My favourite Ugandan food is matooke and goat stew. Matooke is a savoury/sweet banana which can be cooked in several different ways, like in the form of mashed potatoes or even just sliced up. I love the culture. When you go to a party, there is loads of music, food and always a massive amount of people.
Matooke!
MY PARENTS
My dad is 1 of 21 siblings so I have a lot of cousins and relatives that I haven't even met. Most of my dad's family live in Nigeria so we have to speak to them on the phone, but they always look out for us and make sure they call us on our birthday and on other special occasions. I have never been to Nigeria before. I would love to go to meet my family and my cousins and speak to them face to face.
My mum is from Uganda; she is 1 of 6 siblings so I have many cousins, aunties and uncles. My mum's oldest sister has 6 more children!
I have been to Uganda three times. It is fun staying with my cousins because they show us all the different things you can do in Africa. Whilst we were in lockdown, they got 2 dogs, so I can't wait to go because I love dogs. Transport in Uganda is very different. I haven't seen a train in Uganda before, but there are taxis which are not same as Ubers or black cabs. A taxi is a bus in Uganda; everyone goes in and it stops at different stops. There are also bodas. These are like Ubers, but instead of a car, you are on a motor bike. It is really cool. In the village, they also have bodas but there is mainly just the option of bicycles.
A boda.
In Uganda, we go to the village or town my auntie lives in. But the last time we went to Uganda, we stayed in the village because we went for my great grandma’s funeral. On the way there, it was really interesting because as we were driving, people sold roast meat and roast corn through the window.
A few years ago, we spent our 10th birthday in Uganda, and it was very special because we have the same birthday as our cousin in Uganda, so that year, we had a joint party. It was her 18th and our 10th. It was so good; there was a bouncy castle, delicious food and it was amazing.
I love Uganda!
