NEW YORK, September 3 - The ad on the Uganda North America Association’s Web site was enticing. For $95 it promised this year’s convention goers a luxurious cruise around New York with plenty of food and live performances by some of Uganda’s most loved artists like Juliana Kanyomozi and Chameleon.

NEW YORK, September 2 - Pension L. Olerum is not Ugandan but that did not stop him from attending this year’s Uganda North American Association convention in New York. The Greenville, S.C-based Nigerian businessman chose to attend the annual gathering of Ugandans because he heard good things about the country’s real estate industry, he said.

NEW YORK, September 1 - When Marvin Baba looked through the door into the makeshift gallery at the the Uganda North America Association convention in New York, he thought he recognized the art. He had bought a few similar pieces of art but because the paintings were mostly on greeting cards, it never occurred to him that the artist would be big enough to warrant a gallery at the convention.