IU quarterback Nate Sudfeld contributes to much bigger rebuilding job

BLOOMINGTON —Indiana University's football program is in perpetual rebuilding mode. That is inconsequential compared to rebuilding a nation.

Such renewal was part of what Nate Sudfeld witnessed when he spent a March week of spring break in Uganda, which continues to recover from a civil war that ravaged the northern part of the East African country. The Indiana quarterback traveled there with his brother, New York Jets tight end Zach Sudfeld, on behalf of Assist International.

"I definitely feel like I got more out of it than it helped them," Nate Sudfeld said. "That was something I really wasn't expecting."

Assist International was founded in 1990 by Sudfeld's maternal grandfather, Bob Pagett, a former Assembly of God pastor. It is a humanitarian organization that installs water filtration units, constructs schools and orphanages, and improves medical care.

Sudfeld spoke publicly for the first time about his experience to The Star. For months, he has been talking about it to teammates, including those who want to return to Uganda with him.

"At least half the team was asking about it," he said. "Guys seemed pretty touched just to see the pictures."

He observed construction of a home for orphans in northern Uganda, where Joseph Kony formerly led the Lord's Resistance Army, a guerrilla group. Kony was accused of ordering abduction of children to become sex slaves and child soldiers. He was indicted in 2005 for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, but has not been captured.

Girls who were taken lived "horrific lives," according to Sudfeld's father, Ralph, who recently became president of Assist International. The organization works closely with Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, who has been characterized as the Mother Teresa of Africa and was included in Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people.

All of Pagett's nine grandchildren have been overseas with Assist International, which has participated in 500 projects in 65 countries.

"They were deeply impacted," Ralph Sudfeld said. "You can't have that experience at 14 and not have it always be part of your world view when you're looking at everything, including all the opportunities that you have in the U.S."

Nate Sudfeld, 21, visited Uganda once before, as a 14-year-old. There he saw children without shoes, living in mud huts, orphaned and sick with the HIV virus. The trip left him "shell-shocked," he said.

"There was a world this big," he said, "and that there were actually issues in the world that were bigger than not having air conditioning for the night."

Previously, he said, the sights saddened him. This time he had new appreciation for the Ugandans' selflessness and joy.

One boy who was given a tiny toy car shared it with others. Sudfeld attempted to teach children how to throw a football — "without success" — and one of the most attentive was a 6-year-old orphan who had one leg amputated. The boy was enthusiastic and one of the best students at his school.

"That was tough to see," Sudfeld said. "But he was a remarkable kid."

The locals were awed by how far Sudfeld could throw a football but entertained by his clumsiness when he agreed to join a girls' dance recital. To Ugandans, football means soccer, so the IU quarterback saw more potential punters than passers.

The Sudfeld brothers were called "mzungu," a Swahili word for a white person.

"When those kids see a 6-foot-6 blondie come out there, those bonds … there's no substitute for that," Ralph Sudfeld said. "They're hooked on those relationships."

Uganda is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 38 percent of the population living on $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank. It also has the youngest population in the world, with 77 percent younger than 30. That's one of the reasons education is such an emphasis of Assist International there.

Sudfeld has the prototypical size and arm of a pro quarterback. He acknowledged that he has a platform that others don't, and becoming an NFL quarterback would only elevate that. He said he wants to "help out in any way I can" with the mission of Assist International.

"At the same time, I didn't want to come home and just see a guy complain about something and be like, 'Come on,' and act like I know better than them," he said. "You can explain the experience as much as you want, but until you actually experience it, it's kind of useless to try to tell people about it."

Call Star reporter David Woods at (317) 444-6195. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.

Assist International assists developing countries with water, poverty, education, medical and orphaned and abandoned children. For more information go to www.assistinternational.org.