Perched upon a small mountain top, tucked amid the lush, rolling hills that surround the Ugandan city of Mbale, three dozen African men huddle about a podium, heads bowed. The Africans murmur to themselves in prayer, imploring God to bless their village with a bountiful harvest and their families with long and fruitful lives. A yellowed parchment is perched upon the podium, a scroll pulled tight between two wooden rollers, scribbles of an ancient language crossing the page. The spiritual leader of the community touches the fringe of his shawl to the parchment and speaks his prayer aloud: "Baruch atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha’olam . . . ."

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