Frank Burton was a man who understood value.

When it came time for the Sydney-based chartered accountant to divvy up his estate, he saw the opportunity to make his contribution to education go further with The School of St Jude.

“Frank was someone who loved knowledge, and who felt that education was important, which we think is why he decided to leave a large part of his estate to The School of St Jude,” his sister Suzan explained.

“As an accountant, with a university degree himself, Frank loved comparing different investments, and he knew that investment in education is one of the best investments of all. He would have been particularly pleased to know that his donation was going to support students going to university.”

The trivia buff, AFL fanatic and all-round generous man passed away in July after an unexpected and sudden illness, but his substantial bequests to three organisations will ensure many others will continue to be inspired by and benefit from those pursuits he valued.

Family man: Frank was a dearly loved family member who always had a laugh with friends.
Family man: Frank was a dearly loved family member who always had a laugh with friends.

“Thanks to him, multiple children will get an outstanding education at The School of St Jude in Tanzania, St Vincent de Paul will be able to help more people who are homeless and more women fleeing domestic violence… he also left something to the (Sydney) Swans, to hopefully help win many more premierships,” Suzan shared with attendees at Frank’s funeral, and later said the family knew of at least one of those people who had been inspired by his generosity and donated to St Jude’s since then.

“We think he decided to include the school in his will because he liked the idea of students being able to improve their lives, and those of their families, through education.”

St Jude’s founder, Gemma Sisia, said she was deeply saddened by news of Frank’s death but touched by his considerate actions.

“Frank’s generosity means so much to our school, and we look forward to celebrating the opportunities students will have available from these scholarships with his devoted family,” she said.

Lasting impact: Frank's generosity will help students receive a high-quality education and graduate, like these students from 2015.
Lasting impact: Frank's generosity will help students receive a high-quality education and graduate, like these students from 2015.

Frank’s mother Anne and his sisters Suzan and Fiona are also patrons of the school, so our community here in Arusha has been very fortunate to have the support of such a giving family. His lasting legacy remains deep in their hearts and in the many he has helped with his decisions.

Join the Burtons and St Jude’s in fighting poverty through education. Find out more by downloading our Wills and Bequests Information pack, or by making a donation.

Asha is afraid of nothing, how many 10 year olds can say that?

Her favourite subject is science because her teacher, Mr Samwel Jackson, “is so smart funny and nice,” she says. Asha likes learning about animals, especially lions, and how lions like to kill and eat zebras.

Asha’s favourite person in the world is her mum, Nuiya.

Mother's girl: Asha's favourite person is her mum, Nuiya, who St Jude's is helping by providing essential supplies.
Mother's girl: Asha's favourite person is her mum, Nuiya, who St Jude's is helping by providing essential supplies.

Nuiya raises Asha and her cousin, Ramadhani, on the money she makes from washing clothes and sewing jumpers to sell at local shops. St Jude's also assists Asha’s family by providing home packs that include essentials like soap, beans and cooking oil.

Asha and Nuiya have just returned from Mwanza, the second biggest city in Tanzania, where they spent the school holidays with Asha’s grandmother, who taught her how to cook ugali.

Asha is a quick study and in 2015 achieved almost straight A’s across her subjects.

This year Asha has started Standard 3 (Year 3) and is excited to be back at school. “I like St Jude’s and I am very happy to come back because I am coming to read lots of books,” she said.

Happy environment: Asha (middle) has enjoyed making new friends like Rogathe (left) and Fatuma.
Happy environment: Asha (middle) has enjoyed making new friends like Rogathe (left) and Fatuma.

She is also excited to see her best friend Mary.

Asha and Mary like to play the slide game at lunchtime and are near inseparable.

When Asha grows up she wants to be a “doctor for children” and so does Mary.

In Tanzania there are only 3 doctors per 100,000, people, one of the lowest per capita rates in the world. 

Success: Asha is going to use her education to become a doctor, a profession desperately needed in Tanzania.
Success: Asha is going to use her education to become a doctor, a profession desperately needed in Tanzania.

If you would like to be part of amazing Asha’s aspirations and correspond with her about the feeding practices of lions, or how to cook ugali, then why not sponsor her today?

St Jude’s graduate Tumaini is taking a stand against physical discipline while volunteering at his local government school.

Through his Mentoring and Networking Program at Baraa Secondary School, Tumaini is encouraging teachers to lose the canes and adopt non-violent forms of discipline.

“Teachers take those students that they have a negative perception of and the main punishment that they give them is caning. Physical punishment is not a good punishment,” Tumaini said, explaining that he has refused to punish in such a way and is trying to sway colleagues to opt for more encouraging solutions.

Tumaini

“I told them that when you want to change (the students’) mentality you have to deal with them psychologically and not physically. Since strokes are given on hands, some students fail to even hold a pen and write, and some of them start avoiding classes.”

The idea came to the Beyond St Jude’s community service student and fellow program founding teacher Peter as they agreed that physical punishment such as caning, which is still common practice in Tanzanian public schools, is no way to encourage students.

In the second half of his community service year, Tumaini is proving himself to be a community-focused leader with strong skills and values.

Tumaini

He said he knows non-violent punishment works, as he has seen it for himself at St Jude’s, where physical punishment has never existed.

“St Jude’s is an example to be followed as far as educating a child goes. If I had remained in my former school before St Jude’s, I would have been failing like these students because I started out as a failure but got better and better and started excelling when I got to St Jude’s,” he explained.

“This is a lesson to me that a student isn’t the one to blame; instead, he/she should be given a chance to be listened and understand his troubles as they could be the reason for his failure.”

Proof in his theory is already showing… Tumaini said the most rewarding and enjoyable part of his internship proves it.

Tumaini

“The positive interactions with students, and the bond created between me and the students, has caused even the chronic absentees to start attending my lessons.”

Graduates like Tumaini are reaching more than 10,000 students at local government schools. Support them by donating to the Beyond St Jude’s fund.