Northwestern University Athletics
Assistant Coach Jeff Oleck Shares Passion for Soccer in Uganda
1/19/2016 11:00:00 AM | General, Men's Soccer, 'Cats Give Back
By Amit Mallik, Northwestern Correspondent
Men's soccer assistant coach Jeff Oleck traveled to Uganda in December as a part of the organization Fields of Dreams Uganda to assist with the Hope Cup, a soccer tournament for Ugandan Youth Soccer teams.
Fields of Dreams Uganda's mission is to better the lives of Ugandan children through the two vehicles of soccer and education, and the organization has served around 6,000 children so far. Oleck has been involved with the group since 2012, and now is on the Board of Directors.
"It's just a great platform to do good," Oleck said. "People ask me all the time: "Why Uganda?" and the answer is because so little can go so far in making a difference."
Uganda is home to around 35 million people, and the median age of the population is 15.5 years, whereas in the United States, the median age is 37.1. There are approximately 2.5 million orphans in the young Ugandan population, and the country is still rebounding from its long civil war involving the Lord's Resistance Army, a violent rebel group.
Fields of Dreams Uganda tries to give the children of the developing country hope, and Oleck believes that keeping students in school through secondary school and college is an important initiative. Most students in Uganda drop out of the education system at some point around secondary school, often because of financial constraints. The average cost for a year's worth of tuition is around $30.
The goal of the organization is to create educational and soccer initiatives so that students see soccer as a reward for going to school, and have a more stable relationship with the educational system.
"Uganda is a country obsessed with soccer. The kids love it and stay in school so that they can play afterwards," Oleck said. "With playing soccer, they also get all the benefits that come with a team sport—comradery, accountability and teamwork."
The December trip that Oleck took with his wife, Alex, and two other organization members focused on facilitating the soccer aspect of the organization. The Hope Cup is a tournament put on by Fields of Dreams Uganda for youth teams hailing from all over the country from Kampala, the nation's capital, to Gulu, a northern city. Oleck was able to watch the teams from his organization participate in the tournament, and share in their joy.
"One personal highlight from the trip is when boys from Gulu were playing a group stage match and another team from the central region of Uganda was watching and cheering them on from the sidelines," Oleck recounted. "Gulu and Kampala are two completely different regions, different cultures, and different dialects. But when the Gulu team won, the Central join ran onto the field and joined them in celebration.
"This Gulu team had members that have been through the most difficult hardships - stuff you couldn't imagine," Oleck said. "They were joined on the field with their brothers from the central region and they celebrated a special moment. In one display of camaraderie and solidarity, barriers were broken down and everyone on the field was simply there for the love of the game."
For Fields of Dreams Uganda, bringing soccer to the kids has always been about the pure moments of joy that come with playing a soccer match, and the way the sport can transcend all hardships and barriers in an instant. Oleck tries to foster that connection between soccer and happiness for the Ugandans even when he isn't participating on trips, and has started to involve the Northwestern community.
"The goal is to constantly build a relationship between Fields of Dreams Uganda and Northwestern University," Oleck said. "The kids there also love hearing about what it's like to be at a University. I was proud to represent Northwestern on the trip."
Oleck is always looking for more ways to gain support for Fields of Dreams Uganda, because any contribution often makes a big difference in the lives of Ugandan children. The organizations' next trip to Uganda is in February to support the initiative to keep girls in school through hygiene kits and self-defense training.
Field of Dreams Uganda can be found at www.fieldsofdreamsuganda.org.
Men's soccer assistant coach Jeff Oleck traveled to Uganda in December as a part of the organization Fields of Dreams Uganda to assist with the Hope Cup, a soccer tournament for Ugandan Youth Soccer teams.
Fields of Dreams Uganda's mission is to better the lives of Ugandan children through the two vehicles of soccer and education, and the organization has served around 6,000 children so far. Oleck has been involved with the group since 2012, and now is on the Board of Directors.
"It's just a great platform to do good," Oleck said. "People ask me all the time: "Why Uganda?" and the answer is because so little can go so far in making a difference."
Uganda is home to around 35 million people, and the median age of the population is 15.5 years, whereas in the United States, the median age is 37.1. There are approximately 2.5 million orphans in the young Ugandan population, and the country is still rebounding from its long civil war involving the Lord's Resistance Army, a violent rebel group.
Fields of Dreams Uganda tries to give the children of the developing country hope, and Oleck believes that keeping students in school through secondary school and college is an important initiative. Most students in Uganda drop out of the education system at some point around secondary school, often because of financial constraints. The average cost for a year's worth of tuition is around $30.
The goal of the organization is to create educational and soccer initiatives so that students see soccer as a reward for going to school, and have a more stable relationship with the educational system.
"Uganda is a country obsessed with soccer. The kids love it and stay in school so that they can play afterwards," Oleck said. "With playing soccer, they also get all the benefits that come with a team sport—comradery, accountability and teamwork."
The December trip that Oleck took with his wife, Alex, and two other organization members focused on facilitating the soccer aspect of the organization. The Hope Cup is a tournament put on by Fields of Dreams Uganda for youth teams hailing from all over the country from Kampala, the nation's capital, to Gulu, a northern city. Oleck was able to watch the teams from his organization participate in the tournament, and share in their joy.
"One personal highlight from the trip is when boys from Gulu were playing a group stage match and another team from the central region of Uganda was watching and cheering them on from the sidelines," Oleck recounted. "Gulu and Kampala are two completely different regions, different cultures, and different dialects. But when the Gulu team won, the Central join ran onto the field and joined them in celebration.
"This Gulu team had members that have been through the most difficult hardships - stuff you couldn't imagine," Oleck said. "They were joined on the field with their brothers from the central region and they celebrated a special moment. In one display of camaraderie and solidarity, barriers were broken down and everyone on the field was simply there for the love of the game."
For Fields of Dreams Uganda, bringing soccer to the kids has always been about the pure moments of joy that come with playing a soccer match, and the way the sport can transcend all hardships and barriers in an instant. Oleck tries to foster that connection between soccer and happiness for the Ugandans even when he isn't participating on trips, and has started to involve the Northwestern community.
"The goal is to constantly build a relationship between Fields of Dreams Uganda and Northwestern University," Oleck said. "The kids there also love hearing about what it's like to be at a University. I was proud to represent Northwestern on the trip."
Oleck is always looking for more ways to gain support for Fields of Dreams Uganda, because any contribution often makes a big difference in the lives of Ugandan children. The organizations' next trip to Uganda is in February to support the initiative to keep girls in school through hygiene kits and self-defense training.
Field of Dreams Uganda can be found at www.fieldsofdreamsuganda.org.
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