It was Christmas day. Her mother waited pensively at the end of a long hallway in the Entrebbe International Airport in Uganda. Her cousin stood nearby with a camera to document the event. When she turned the corner and they saw her, there were no apprehensive stares or Kodak moments. There were only tears, of joy and of sadness.
It was an unlikely homecoming made necessary because of a terrible tragedy. But it was a homecoming made possible because of an unlikely community.
Growing up as the youngest daughter of a diplomat in Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda, School of Communication graduate student Tina Musoke and her siblings were strongly instilled with the need for education.
"I stayed in Uganda for my undergraduate work," she said. "But my parents wanted me to follow my brother and sister to the United States. I had visited the U.S. before on trips, but the first time I lived here was when I came to AU."
One of her older sisters remained in Uganda with her parents. Musoke was so happy and busy at AU that for the first few months of the semester she didn't even have time to call or e-mail her sister. She kept telling herself that she would make the time tomorrow or the next week. But one Monday afternoon in late October, she received a call that would change her life.
"I came out of class and got to the Tenleytown Metro before I realized that my sister in the U.S. had been trying to call me," she said. "When I got her on the phone, she was crying. All she could say was our sister was gone. I collapsed right outside the station. I couldn't move."
"I wouldn't have blamed her if she never came back."
Richard Stack has been a SOC faculty member since 1984. He taught Musoke's Principles of Strategic Communication class last fall.
"Tina always had such a huge smile on her face during class," he said. "She was so bubbly and vivacious, and everyone in the class liked her."
But that energy dissipated that day after Professor Stack's class when Musoke learned about her sister, who had fallen ill suddenly and succumbed quickly. Stack was one of the first to learn and one of the first to talk to her.
"I called to talk to her that night, but I didn't know when she would come back," Stack said. "I was amazed that she came to class the next Monday. I wouldn't have blamed her if she never came back."
Stack decided to dedicate that day's class discussion to talking about a time in which someone special passed away. The class was very emotional and, according to Stack, the students poured their hearts out.
"That did so much for me," Musoke said.
Even before that class, many members of the class had already begun to show their support. Classmate Aman Battish was one of 10 members of the class who went to Tina's house in Laurel, Md., and attended a "Keeping the Body" service to help her mourn.
"She was so moved by our support," Battish said. "We realized that we had become her family here. When Tina spoke about her sister it affected all of us deeply."
This was also the first time members of the class learned that Tina could not afford to return home. The funeral had already occurred, but according to Battish, many in the group were saddened that Tina could not grieve with her family.
"We found out that it would cost roughly $3,000 to buy a ticket," Battish said.
"We were convinced if we pulled together we could do something to help her get home."
"I had no idea that anything was going on"
Talking about helping Tina and actually raising the money were two very different propositions. Battish began working with fellow classmate Abbey Levenshus, and they coordinated their efforts with Stack. There were many obstacles - the first being timing, the second, organizing an event.
"We didn't have a lot of time," Battish said. "It was right before Thanksgiving and essentially we had two weeks to plan it."
"We thought about a benefit concert," Stack said. "But ultimately we decided on [a student-faculty] basketball game."
"Team Tina," as they would come to be called, had fewer than two weeks to ready the event called "Hoops for Home." But as the students worked on the project, they realized the community was willing to support their cause.
"What was unexpected was the way in which faculty, students, staff, departments and even people's families rallied and found ways to contribute to the Hoops for Home event and to our growing fund," Levenshus said.
According to Stack, the athletic department was very generous in providing referees, a space to play and even jerseys for the players.
"Because we were doing a student-faculty basketball game, everyone was getting involved," Battish said. "If they didn't play basketball, they wanted to be cheerleaders. The more people heard about it, the more fun it became to attend or become involved."
One SOC faculty member whom Stack recruited was John Watson. A self-described basketball junkie, he had never met Tina but was willing to help because he believed in the importance of the cause.
"Tina has never been in any of my classes and probably never will be in any of them," he said. "But I actually believe in that crap about teachers serving 'in loco parentis' and that college is actually each student's 'alma mater.'"
While Tina was kept in the dark about the activities of her classmates, she was wandering in the dark emotionally. She said it was hard to cope with her sister's death because, as the last one to leave her parents, she felt she should be the one supporting them in their time of need. When she finally found out about Hoops for Home just days before the game, she said she cried.
"The posters went up, and I was shocked," she said. "I had no idea that anything was going on. Everybody knew, except me."
"There wasn't a dry eye in the place"
The planning for the game was coming together nicely, but there was still an issue about money.
"I was very scared [about raising enough money]," Battish said. "We had no idea how many people would show up, let alone how much people would donate."
But as the two teams of faculty members and graduate students took the court, it was clear that the game had generated serious interest and serious donations. SOC faculty member and Associate Dean Rose Ann Robertson ran a bake sale. SOC Dean Larry Kirkman contributed money for every rebound in the game. KC Ostapkovich, a graduate student in the College of Arts and Sciences, was able to raise more than $700 from her church.
"In the 17 years I've been on this campus, I have never seen such spontaneous compassion," Stack said.
At the end of the game, the student team emerged victorious. But few really cared about the scoreboard.
"When at the end of that game I moved the paper basketball into the hoop over Uganda, signifying on our Hoops for Home poster that we had made our goal, the whole place erupted," Levenshus said. "We had not only been effective on paper, but we had accomplished our goal. Tina was going home."
By the time Musoke spoke at the end of the game, the emotion in the building was overwhelming.
"There wasn't a dry eye in the place," Stack said.
"I tried to say thank you, but you know it's not enough," Musoke said. "Words can't express what I felt. It was like a dream."
"All I wanted to do was to sit beside my sister's grave"
Musoke's homecoming was bittersweet. She was happy to see her parents, but she finally had to come to terms with losing her sister. She said she spent time beside her sister's grave just so she could feel like she said goodbye.
"All I wanted to do was to sit beside by my sister's grave," Musoke said. "I knew she knew that I loved her, but I hadn't said it for a while. She fell sick in two days, and she was gone. You never know, so tell your loved ones that you love them every chance you get."
Not only was it difficult saying goodbye to her sister in spirit, it was also difficult to say goodbye to her parents when it was time to return to AU.
"I missed AU, but I was scared of leaving [home] because the last time I left something bad happened," she said. "But my parents are too proud of me to say I quit. My motivation now is for my parents. It is to make them proud of me."
Stack was especially pleased to see Tina back this semester.
"Tina had a huge smile on her face when I first saw her this semester.," he said. "When I saw that, I knew the Tina of old was back."
Tina is still readjusting after the emotional roller coaster of last fall. She still becomes emotional when trying to discuss it. She keeps in close contact with members of "Team Tina." She is even trying to give small gifts to everyone who helped her in her time of need. Mostly, she is in awe of the compassion shown to her.
"I love the university and the people here," she said.
"Love is a strong word, but it is necessary here. I have never met people with such big hearts. I am forever indebted to them"
