Remembering, Serving, Succeeding

By Jarrett Jobe, Ph.D.

Sometimes, being able to get close to the heroic journeys of others gives insight into future possibilities. For UCO’s Jarrett Jobe, Ph.D., his tragic journey with a high school friend led him to take UCO students to Uganda for the last eight years. There, they’ve had the privilege of working with an internationally recognized humanitarian and seeing tangible results — including building and stocking a school library.

The journey that led me to Sister Rosemary’s work and Uganda started on a football field more than 20 years ago. I was fortunate enough to play alongside some outstanding athletes and young men at Westmoore High School. One of those teammates was an imposing offensive lineman named Brandon Whitten. He was physically gifted, maintained a tremendous work ethic, and everyone who knew him admired his outgoing and caring personality. I was a year younger than Brandon, and I still remember the words of encouragement and support he provided me as an underclassman trying to earn my position on the team.

Brandon’s talents led him to play football at the collegiate level and, like many high school friends and teammates, we all watched each other from a distance, proud of each other’s accomplishments and successes. Yet, when watching from afar, the reality of any person’s situation is difficult to understand. Brandon was struggling with prescription drug abuse, which began during his time in college. In 2002, at the age of 25, Brandon died in a motorcycle accident related to this abuse.

In the years following his death, Brandon’s father, Reggie, still devastated by the loss of his son, was encouraged by several friends to travel to Uganda to experience the work they were doing and meet some individuals who were emerging from life’s most difficult and challenging circumstances.

Enter Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe and the women of St. Monica’s. After hearing their story and witnessing their determination, Reggie reignited his passion for serving others. He left Uganda committed to supporting Sister Rosemary and northern Uganda, but also to telling the story of Brandon and the risk of prescription drug abuse. This passion led him to create Pros for Africa and FATE (Fighting Addiction Through Education), two nonprofits based in Oklahoma.

It was through FATE that I was able to initially connect with Reggie. Reggie was visiting UCO through a partnership with our College of Education and Professional Studies, and I noticed several high school friends were involved in the program. After the program concluded, I had a brief conversation with Reggie. When he learned about my involvement with the Leadership program at UCO and my doctorate degree in international relations, he said, “You need to get involved with Pros for Africa — if you want to see a real leader, an international leader, you need to meet Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe.”

Over the next 48 hours, I read and watched everything I could about Sister Rosemary and her work in northern Uganda. There is not enough space to write about Rosemary’s efforts and experiences in supporting some of the most marginalized people in the world during the civil wars in Uganda and Sudan. Persistence, patience, innovation, grace, forgiveness and love are just a few of the words that come to mind when I think of Rosemary.

I learned more about Pros for Africa and the development of international trips to support Sister Rosemary. I also discovered a childhood friend, Jeff Hargrave, was working as the director of the program in Oklahoma. There were too many stars aligning to ignore the opportunity to engage with their work.

Working in leadership development the past 10 years has taught me an important lesson. Authentic leadership — the type of leadership which inspires, teaches and changes the world — is difficult to find. When you see this type of leader, you gravitate towards this person; you look forward to your next opportunity to work and learn from them; and, they change your perspective. Sister Rosemary is this type of leader. The other sisters at St. Monica’s, I have discovered, are, too. I wanted our students to experience and learn from these women.

During my time at UCO in the Leadership office, I have continually searched for opportunities to provide our students with international experiences focused on service, leadership and global competencies. This is a difficult proposition, as you want to be sure to provide worthy work and support, as well as avoid the exploitation of communities you are visiting. St. Monica’s in Uganda provided the perfect opportunity to potentially develop a sustainable, shortterm, international experience.

I have been fortunate to travel to a number of countries across the world and experience some amazing cultures and people. Yet, when we began our first visit to Uganda with UCO students and staff, I felt a nervousness I had not felt for some time. Much of this nervousness was born out of the hope of a sustainable and meaningful partnership with Rosemary and St. Monica’s. Rosemary is a global figure, her accomplishments imposing, and I was not sure how we would be able to support her work effectively.

With our first visit, our focus was to help with some construction projects in Atiak, a town about 43 miles north of Gulu, where St. Monica’s and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart were building residence facilities for women and children attending their school. Our work did not change the world those two weeks — we sanded, painted and tiled. However, the relationships that developed during this time created an opportunity.

One evening during our visit, Rosemary invited me to sit down with all of the sisters to discuss future opportunities for UCO and St. Monica’s. Listening to the needs and requests of the sisters was daunting, if not overwhelming. A litany of needs were covered — funds to hire teachers and medical personnel, facilities for children and women staying at different locations across north and northwest Uganda, educational materials including books, and medical supplies to provide sound health care. With UCO’s great history in education and teaching, I gravitated toward the literacy and learning aspects of the conversation. What if we could support a library? The decision was quickly made — yes.

Over the next two years, students from UCO and East Central University worked toward this goal. Books were collected; funds were raised; and construction support — including sanding, painting and tiling again — culminated in the children and adult literacy library in St. Monica’s opening in summer of 2017. More than $20,000 was raised by students, UCO faculty and staff, and supporters of St. Monica’s for this project. This past year, through the work of engaged students and our second Sister Rosemary Gala, another $10,000 was raised to begin construction of a maternal health clinic and primary school, another growing need of the Atiak community. Our most recent trip required brickmaking and foundation work for these projects.

Our progress has been sustained by the continuous efforts and work of numerous individuals. These efforts have required patience, planning and an unwavering commitment to working through uncertainty and various challenges. Yet the thread that holds all of this together, the center of the success, is a woman who through improbable odds has made achieving success a habit. She’s a woman with few peers, who displays what I call a tenacious, unbounded love of others — Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe.

In 2014, Sister Rosemary was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. For the last 30 years, she and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus have worked to shelter, educate and provide job training for the women and children caught in the violent civil wars in northern Uganda and South Sudan. Many were victims of Joseph Kony and the infamous Lord Resistance Army. These women — and their children — became social outcasts, but not at St. Monica’s. To learn more about Sister Rosemary and her work, visit www.sewinghopefoundation. com or www.fate.org.

All journeys have a beginning and end — the nature of a journey. We often don’t know when a particular journey commences or when the final steps will be taken. All we can do is take each step toward an unknown future, while recognizing the people and places that have been a part of this journey and the memories shared with each one. My hope is to continue the legacy of some of the most inspired and authentic leaders I have ever met. To work alongside individuals who have committed to serve others, with no prejudice or judgment. To continue to provide support for Sister Rosemary and St. Monica’s, to encourage students and our communities to recognize authentic leadership and aspire to provide the same.

Jarrett Jobe, Ph.D., UCO’s assistant vice president of Public Affairs, has taken about 50 UCO students to work with Sister Rosemary.