How to eat ugali

If you've done a web search and are hoping for advice you are out of luck. I have been trying for some time to figure out how to eat ugali properly and still make a mess of it. Ugali is the thick porridge eaten commonly here, and is usually made out of corn flour, or sometimes cassava, or even wheat. It is eaten with the hands, actually just the right hand, and you take some from your plate, make a ball, and then dip or scoop your sauce, meat, or vegetables. I can eat a meal of ugali, but I always manage to get food all over my hand, whereas my eating companions may have a bit of food on the tip of their fingers, but generally they are much tidier. I've asked several people what the trick is, and tried to watch how others are eating, but there seems to be some subtle thing that I'm missing. If there is anyone out their who knows what the secret is, I would be grateful. As it is I eat like a five year old. Which really, being in another culture is often like being a child over again, talking like a child, eating like a child, having social graces like a child.