Open source technologies have a unique ability to connect people, transcend boundaries, and foster learning. This is exemplified by the collaboration between Ugandan developers Tayebwa Noah and Jessie Ssebuliba, and Germany-based Hendrik Ebbers, CEO of Open Elements, Eclipse Committer, and a member of the Eclipse Foundation Board of Directors. Despite never meeting in person, their shared passion for open source has connected them in impactful projects across continents. Recently, the three open source practitioners shared some insights with us, such as how open source is already being utilised in the medical sector across various African countries. We also learned how open source culture fosters a learning environment that, for some, is almost equivalent to a university course of study such as a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering.
Cultivating Curiosity for Coding
For Tayebwa, who was born in Northern Rwanda and later moved to Uganda for his school education, the journey into software development began in high school, where an Ethiopian friend introduced him to computers and they frequently played computer games. Over time, his fascination with how things worked behind the screen grew, and he realized he would have to delve into computer science to really understand the inner workings of computers and video games. This insight led him to pursue a degree in Software Engineering in university.
Jessie discovered software engineering through open source – notably its meaningful, real-world application in the medical sector. Inspired by his brother’s work on the OpenMRS project, an open source medical records system, Jessie embraced software engineering as an opportunity to learn and innovate. Remarkably, he is a completely self-taught developer and open source practitioner. He recalls: “I learned everything from YouTube. Through open source, through OpenMRS, I also learned a lot” – from his initial experiences with Jira and GitHub to successfully sending his first pull request.
Discovering Open Source and Its Impact
Ultimately, both developers were introduced to open source through OpenMRS, which has been adopted by over 80 countries. Noah estimates that about 80% of Ugandan developers he’s in contact within open source are involved in OpenMRS, the foremost Ugandan implementation of OpenMRS being UgandaEMR+. Ugandan adopters include the Ministry of Health and Makerere University, but it’s also used in Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa, Lesotho, and more than 20 African countries. According to Noah and Jessie, the project also has numerous contributors from Uganda and Kenya.
Noah reflects, “Open source helped me grow my skills and make connections, the most important of which was meeting Hendrik.” Jessie adds: “Open source paved the way for me to improve my skills and ultimately get my job. Open source really did me good.”
Their work in open source has also enabled the two young men to collaborate with global organisations and participate in initiatives such as Google Summer of Code. Hendrik Ebbers explains: “With open source, you have the possibility to work on a Google-sponsored project with people from Microsoft. Thirty years ago, it was not at all possible to work with people from those companies.”
Their stories underscore how open source and welcoming communities act as an alternative education pathway, equipping practitioners with skills comparable to a formal computer science degree.
Collaboration Beyond Borders
Hendrik first met Noah through the Eclipse Adoptium project, where Noah demonstrated enthusiasm for learning and contributing. Noah had done some research on open source projects for Google Summer of Code when he came across Adoptium: “When I went through open source projects, I learned about the Eclipse Foundation.” When he asked a question on the Adoptium Slack channel, Hendrik was the first person to respond. “Noah was able to help us on the web page and on documentation, which is always a good place to start,” reports Hendrik.
Noah also explored other Eclipse projects. During Google Summer of Code 2024, he contributed to the Eclipse Cargo Tracker project under the mentorship of Reza Rahman. Documenting his experience in a blog post, Noah wrote: “This journey has not only honed my technical skills but also deepened my passion for contributing to open source projects.”
Noah later introduced Jessie to Open Elements, and Hendrik hired both of them as contractors, marking the beginning of a partnership that thrives despite geographical distance. Their contributions span web development, libraries, and critical projects like Apache Maven, supported by Germany’s Sovereign Tech Fund from January 2025.
Earlier this year, the Open Elements trio attended a hackathon where OSS was used, Hedera’s “Hello Future” hackathon. During the event, they worked with the Hiero, a blockchain project under the auspices of the Linux Foundation. Within a few weeks, they created a full application with a web frontend and Java backend.
While Jessie is currently working on the websites of Open Elements and Eclipse Adoptium, Noah and Hendrik are focusing on the open source libraries that Open Elements is developing. For example, Noah is assisting the community with pull requests, reviewing them, and answering questions. In general, his Ugandan colleagues’ flexibility and eagerness to learn has enabled Hendrik to identify and contribute to a variety of open source projects that are of strategic relevance to his growing company.
Jessie and Noah are deeply enthusiastic about the open source community, finding it hard to identify areas for improvement when contributing to Eclipse projects. The only challenge Noah has encountered in his open source journey is a common one: in projects with fewer committers, responses to urgent questions can sometimes take longer.
Being a Developer in Kampala, Uganda
Currently, both Noah and Jessie are working from a coworking space in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. This comes with challenges such as unpredictable power outages, especially during the wet season, and absence of street addresses. However, coworking spaces equipped with generators and Hendrik’s efforts to ensure fair compensation and resources, including health insurance and adequate hardware equipment, have mitigated these difficulties. Open Elements is committed to treating Noah and Jessie as full-time employees, reflecting the global shift toward inclusive work environments.
Noah and Jessie envision fostering a stronger local tech community in Kampala. They aim to collaborate with coworkers in their own city and organisations like Open Source Community Africa to inspire more Ugandan developers to embrace open source. “There’s a huge number of tech enthusiasts in Uganda,” Jessie notes. “But open source projects based in Uganda are still rare.”
The Transformative Power of Open Source
For Noah, open source provides a sense of pride and purpose. “On a personal level, I feel good if I worked on a project and I know that it is deployed globally and that it’s going to help someone else. It makes me feel proud every time I look at the work I did in open source and I know someone out there uses it. It feels like I had an impact on the tech world and maybe I’ve had an impact on someone. On a professional level, open source has helped me get a job, and I’m hoping for more opportunities to come.”
Jessie echoes this sentiment, emphasising how open source communities have shaped his career and personal growth. “Contributing to open source has paved the way for me to improve my skills. When I look through my pull requests from a few years ago, I see my journey and learning curve and I feel happy. It’s a really nice thing to join open source communities.” He adds: “In Uganda it’s hard to get a job if you don’t have qualifications such as a bachelor’s degree,” so his involvement in open source projects has helped the self-taught developer land his job at Open Elements.
In the future, Noah, who began his journey with JavaScript, React, and other frontend technologies, aims to focus more on Java and backend development: “When I tried Java, it felt like this is where I’m meant to be.” For Jessie, his professional interests are directed toward Web3 and blockchain technology, areas he strives to specialise in.
Noah’s and Jessie’s stories illustrate the profound impact of open source on individual lives and global collaboration. By connecting people, inspiring learning, and addressing real-world challenges, open source continues to break barriers and create (career) opportunities, proving that it is more than just a development model – it’s a bridge between continents and cultures.
Their journey reflects broader trends highlighted in the State of Open Source in the Global South research report, which emphasises how open source creates opportunities for skills development, collaboration, and career growth in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Stories like those of Noah and Jessie provide real-world examples of these findings at a personal level. We look forward to sharing more inspiring stories from our community as we continue to showcase the impact of open source developers across emerging economies.
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Tayebwa Noah (left) is a passionate software developer at Open Elements with a deep love for open source collaboration. Over the years, he has made contributions to various prominent open source projects, including OpenMRS, HOTOSM, Eclipse Adoptium, Eclipse EE4J, and Jakarta EE. His dedication to open source innovation earned him a place as a participant in the prestigious Google Summer of Code 2024 program under the Eclipse Foundation.
Jessie Ssebuliba (right) is a passionate front-end engineer and tech enthusiast from Kampala, Uganda. A two-time Google Summer of Code (GSoC) intern at OpenMRS, Jessie has built a strong reputation in open source contributions. Currently working full-time at Open Elements, Jessie focuses on delivering innovative solutions while driving impactful projects. As an active contributor to Eclipse Adoptium and Hedera Hashgraph technologies, Jessie is deeply passionate about Web3 and blockchain ecosystems. With a commitment to continuous learning and technical excellence, Jessie thrives at the intersection of decentralised applications, open source development, and modern front-end technologies.
Hendrik Ebbers is a Java champion, a member of JSR expert groups and a JavaOne rockstar. He has achieved all this through his passion for open source and communities. Hendrik is the founder and leader of the Java user group Dortmund and gives talks and presentations at conferences and selected user groups worldwide. Hendrik is a member of the Jakarta EE Working Group (WG) and the Adoptium WG. In addition, Hendrik Ebbers is a member of the Board of Directors of the Eclipse Foundation. In addition to Eclipse-related projects, Hendrik also contributes to other open source software (OSS). For example, he is a core committer of the Hedera Hashgraph, the only open source public ledger written in Java.
