By Katie Sobalsky
In a small room in Uganda a boy studies physics beside a solitary dim light. The electricity is precious to him and he stays up the entire night reading without ever noticing the time slip by. He shares the room with the chickens he has agreed to take care of in exchange for a scholarship to junior high and a place to sleep. This same boy will eventually drop out of school to help one of his brothers win a campaign for senator of Uganda, and whose other brother will be murdered by thieves in the middle of the day. Today, this boy’s motivations have carried him across seas to study at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont. Meet Tibursious Ssendawula.
“Call me Teep,” he says. On April 25 and 26 you will have the chance to hear more of Teep’s stories during Green Mountain College’s spring play titled “Speak Truth to Power.” The play by Ariel Dorfman, is a collection of monologues representing human rights activists from around the world. Personal stories from international students at the college have been incorporated into the play to make it even more personal. Green Mountain College is a small community in a remote location, but it has attracted many international students including Teep from Uganda to others from Kenya, Congo, Burma and Sudan. The monologues are captivating and will remind us of the human rights violations that happen everyday and the heroes that are making a difference. All proceeds will go to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Teep is one of those heros making a difference. At college he’s well known for his charisma and beaming smile. He’s also recognized as one of the first recipients of the Make-a-Difference Scholarship at Green Mountain College, awarded to students that have made positive changes for their communities. It is a highly competitive scholarship, and Teep is a deserving canidate. He has already started two non-profit organizations for students in Uganda.
Teep started his first non-profit when he was still in high school in Uganda. The program, “Computers for Uganda,” gives computers to students that would otherwise be unable to have one. High school and college students from countries like Great Britain, Germany and the United States travel to Uganda and teach people how to use them. Now that Teep is no longer living in Uganda he has passed the responsibilities on to others, but says that the program “has grown huge and is doing well.”
So how did Teep end up in Poultney, Vermont? An American couple discovered him during one of his soccer matches in Uganda. Teep’s older brother had invited the couple to the country after having gotten to know them on a trip to America. Recalling the match, Teep’s face lights up in enthusiasm. He was playing alongside the president of his country who was also the captain of the team. “I scored the winning goal!” he laughs, his smile still as broad as the day it happened.
After the game the American couple congratulated Teep on his victory, and invited him to live with them in Dorset, Vermont to finish high school. “I had no idea that I would ever go to the United States,” Teep says, “It was like a dream.” And although it was hard to leave his family behind he knew that it was for a good cause.
“Everything blew my mind when I came here,” admits Teep, “Like vending machines … Those machines took a lot of my money … I started getting mad at that and so I spent a month without buying anything. I had an extra twenty bucks … that was huge to me. So one night I was talking to my host dad at dinner and I told him I wanted to send that money to my brother in Uganda whose kids had passed away.”
When Teep realized he had the ability to send money back to his country he began to consider what else the money be used for. “The best gift you can give someone is education,” says Teep. With the help of his host parents he started the second non-profit of his high school career and called it “Uganda School Project.” “In Uganda kids can’t even write their name, they can’t communicate,” says Teep, “We need to be able to read and write to keep up with the changing world.”
In a war-stricken country like Uganda education can be the catalyst for change and development. For twenty-one years rebels in Northern Uganda have been fighting the government. Teep explains how children are trained at eight or nine to be soldiers and how the rebel army comes into villages and rapes girls. “Nobody knows any different,” he says quietly, “they’ve never seen the outside world. They grow up in the bush. You come to age when you can hold a gun and then you do the job. You know nothing else. … Education can open their eyes.”
Teep contacted the Holy Cross Fathers in Uganda who agreed to allow him to transfer 100% of the proceeds without taking any money for overhead. As of today “Uganda School Project” is supporting sixty-eight students and Teep knows them each personally. Aside from giving these children an opportunity for education, he also says, “The mission [of the project] is to make students develop a sense of responsibility for their community. I ask them to be pioneers in the community, to give back.”
Teep returns yearly to Uganda to spend time with the students. Speaking about his program he says, “It has had a great impact, you see great changes.” Orphans, dropouts, children with disabilities, and kids from the streets are now some of the best members in their community. “When I go back I feel refueled and enriched,” laughs Teep … “That sense of looking out for each other has been maintained.”
Last year “The Uganda School Project” raised enough money to help build two houses in a Ugandan village. Teep went back home and worked alongside the students he helped get into school. He admitted that before the trip he was a bit worried. “In the back of my mind I thought, ‘is this really possible?’” But at the end of two week he and the students had built two strong houses.
Teep has designed his own major of biology and developmental politics with a minor in math and chemistry as a junior at college. He plans to attend graduate school to study pharmacy. When asked if he will move back to Uganda after graduate school Teep was quick to answer, “Yes … the U.S. doesn’t need me as much as Uganda.” With his education completed, Teep will continue serving his country and people.
Every now and then we need a reminder that underneath all the suffering in this world there are people that are rising above it and seeking change. To quote a voice from the play, “I don’t want to pretend I was a hero, I did what I had to do, that’s all. It’s really so simple. That is what you know. The work has just begun.” Please join Green Mountain College on April 25 and 26 for “Speak Truth to Power,” to hear these stories, to learn, and to feel invigorated again.
