Four of The School of St Jude’s most dedicated community service graduates have embarked on a trip of a lifetime, thanks to long-time school ambassador and Hollywood star Rebel Wilson.

Enock, Joseph, Anna and Rahel graduated last year with some of the top marks in the country, and clinched the spots due to their hard work, passion and commitment to community service during their gap year.

Thanks to Rebel and Disney’s amazing generosity, this awesome foursome enjoyed a cultural tour of the US with the Pitch Perfect star.

Find out what made Anna stand out.

Down to business: Anna's commitment to helping others reached another level with her Community Service Year spent teaching Bookkeeping at Sombetini.

Anna’s “education for all” advocacy is a powerful lesson for anyone to learn.

It’s also how this Community Service Year student has gone “above and beyond” her duties, clinching a place as one of four St Jude’s graduate to travel to the US in June.

“She’s an activist, that one,” said Beyond St Jude’s team member Vivian Deus.

“When she started at Sombetini (Secondary School) she saw an opportunity to make a difference, as she saw the girls were not just lacking teachers but also lacking a counselor and someone to guide them.”

So Anna identified the gap, found a way to help the situation and acted on it.

“She carried on her own counseling program and tells the girls about whatever they need to know. It’s really excellent,” Vivian said. “

And she strongly believes in this (community service) program, and can tell you more about it than any other person.”

Spreading the joy: The high-quality education Anna (right), and friends Mkesa (left) and Kudra, received during their schooling at St Jude's has put her in prime position to help others in her community.

Like all students attending St Jude’s, Anna came from an impoverished home with little chance of finishing high school.

At St Jude’s Anna was given a free, high-quality education and she is already using it to empower others in her community.

Never one to hold back, Anna overcame initial skepticism from her government school class to become a guiding light.

“I was the smallest in the school, my students are all tall and I am short and they all just looked at me and couldn’t imagine I was going to be their teacher,” she explained.

“At first when I went, they thought I was a student and when I told them I was their teacher they just sat and looked at me… after some time they got used to it. They couldn’t imagine I spoke so many words!”

Anna said she loves everything about her community service, from preparing her lessons plans, student work and marking, to counseling “naughty” students.

“I love working with students,” the Bookkeeping teacher said. “I love the subject I teach, in the field I want to study in.”

Reaping the rewards: Anna is very excited to be heading to the US, particularly as the trip was earned through the dedication and commitment she showed during her Community Service Year.

Her passion for personal learning has also been fired up by the impending America trip, despite never having heard of Disneyland until recently. In fact, although she’s never been on a plane, that’s all about to change...

Just like Anna, you too can support our school! Donate to our Area of Greatest Need.

Four of The School of St Jude’s most dedicated community service graduates have embarked on a trip of a lifetime, thanks to long-time school ambassador and Hollywood star Rebel Wilson.

Thanks to Rebel and Disney’s amazing generosity, this awesome foursome enjoyed a cultural tour of the US with the Pitch Perfect star.

Find out what made Enock stand out.

Reach for the stars: Enock treasures his 13 years of high-quality schooling at St Jude's, and has spent countless hours sharing it with his community.

Enock started at St Jude’s in 2003 and has grown to become one of the top young scholars in Tanzania.

Impressive as his academic achievements are, it’s been his commitment to community and ability to rise above any situation that has really made an impact.

During his 13 years of schooling at St Jude’s, Enock has increasingly gone great lengths to spread his education and generosity to others who came from impoverished families like his own.

This has included the past three years’ organising events and visiting orphanages, and being one of a group of secondary St Jude’s students who quietly looked after a grandmother who lived alone near St Jude’s secondary campus. They built her a much-needed toilet last year, and a home four years ago.

In 2014 Enock spent months organizing an Inter-School Academic Challenge for 10 schools, while he and a fellow student were the first from St Jude’s to be invited to the prestigious JuniorTukkie Empowerment Week at South Africa’s University of Pretoria.

Cool, calm and collected: As a member of the St Jude's Visitors team, Enoch has built and honed many skills throughout his Community Service Year.

Enock taught in government schools in the seven months between graduating Form 4 and starting Form 5,and continued to tutor regularly at night.

He has committed hundreds of hours of his own time over the last five years into tutoring siblings and neighbours in all manner of subjects.

“All I need is a (student with a) passion for learning and I can teach anyone anything,” Enock said.

Considerate, well-spoken and always eager to make a good impression, he was a perfect candidate to spend his Community Service Year working in the St Jude’s Visitors’ Team, where he has educated guests from around the world about his beautiful country and the school that is helping his family escape poverty. He has even twice summited Mt Kilimanjaro with our school tour groups!

“One of the things I enjoy most in my life is meeting new people, so community service, like the word itself, community, I love!” Enock said. “By the end of a visit you always end up treating a visitor more like family than a friend and when they are leaving you really feel it.”

Good times: Enoch (left front), loves helping our visitors and had a ball with the Global Immersion crew.

Beyond St Jude’s Manager Angela Bailey said he has become an exemplary community service student.

“He has always had great leadership skills, but he’s taken it to another level with this Visitors team,” she said. “He’s always professional, loves his job and is here any hour of the day or weekend. He’s excelling, and he’s just taking on the challenges and running with them.”

Just like Enoch, you too can support our school! Donate to our Area of Greatest Need.

Four of The School of St Jude’s most dedicated community service graduates have embarked on a trip of a lifetime, thanks to long-time school ambassador and Hollywood star Rebel Wilson.

Thanks to Rebel and Disney’s amazing generosity, this awesome foursome enjoyed a cultural tour of the US with the Pitch Perfect star.

Find out what made Joseph stand out.

Lessons learned: Joseph shows his commitment to working hard and sharing the success an education can bring.

Most people wait until they are rich to build their parents a home – Joseph didn’t.

Despite volunteering to teach local high school students full-time during his gap year, Joseph still managed to find time to build his mother a house in their remote village of Karatu, a small town two hours outside Arusha.

Joseph’s community service placement was one of the furthest from The School of St Jude’s campus in Arusha but he made sure he was available whenever the Beyond St Jude’s team needed him, as he was determined to give back in his local community.

Joseph volunteered at Dr Wilbroad SLAA Secondary School, where he became the Physics Head of Department as well as a maths teacher, educating 244 students.

Rewarding: By "giving back" through his Community Service Year, Joseph has found fulfillment he didn't expect.

He said his volunteer teaching stint has been more rewarding than expected, and he is proud to have created more of a “social environment” between students and teachers by introducing exercises such as football games.

“(The Community Service Year) is the chance to learn more things about life, life’s challenges and professional expectations,” he explained. “We are now good at planning, organising and preparing for lessons… it gives very good life experience,” Joseph said.

Beyond St Jude’s Manager Angela Bailey said Joseph had many admirable, selfless qualities that led to his selection.

“Joseph was only at (St Jude’s) for two years before signing up to do a year of community service, and told us he never thought he would get so much out of it,” she said.

“Not only did he save his very small stipend to help rebuild his mum’s mud hut, but his brother just started at the government school he is teaching at and Joseph continued to save every penny to pay for his uniform and text books.”

Where the heart is: Joseph, at home in Karutu with his family in 2013, knows what is important in life.

The result? Joseph has taught hundreds of students who wouldn’t have otherwise had a physics HOD, his mother has a place to call her own and his brother has an inspired future.

And now that Joseph is going to Disneyland, a place he previously didn’t even know existed, he can’t wait to expand his horizons!

Just like Joseph, you too can support our school! Donate to our Area of Greatest Need.

Four of The School of St Jude’s most dedicated community service graduates have embarked on a trip of a lifetime, thanks to long-time school ambassador and Hollywood star Rebel Wilson.

Thanks to Rebel and Disney’s amazing generosity, this awesome foursome enjoyed a cultural tour of the US with the Pitch Perfect star.

Find out what made Rahel stand out.

In good company: Rahel (center), with friends Elizabeth (left) and Hosiana, knows how important a quality education is and has been working hard during her Community Service Year to ensure her students benefit.

Commitment in the face of adversity is how Rahel stands out.

Rahel faced her biggest challenge in the form of serious health concerns that took hold soon after graduation, but she didn’t let it slow her down.

Rahel made up for the time she lost doing National Service by teaching students science at her local Maringa Secondary School, and Beyond St Jude’s team member Vivian Deus said Rahel’s health issues only served to motivate her further.

“Rahel did not use her health issues as an excuse to step away from the program,” Vivian said. “(During the first few months of recovery) she was not supposed to teach, just help out. But she was always there early in the morning, and later she was organizing and helping set-up for the national exam practicals, so she was there at 5am in the mornings, without fail.”

No holding back: Rahel's determination and persistence have taken her and her students a long way.

Then there’s Rahel’s pure passion and joy in giving back.

She said she could do nothing but her best for the Community Service Year in her severely under-funded and over-crowded government school.

“I just had a passion to teach them and help them because one day I will become a mother, and these kids I’m teaching now will become their teachers, their friends’ parents, and the people who will be with my children,” she said. “So I want them to be the best people they can be, and give them the best education they need.”

Vivian said Rahel’s commitment to community service obviously made her shine.

“Any time we talked to her about community service you could see her cheering up and she would say how happy she is to give back, and how it gives her satisfaction,” she said.

Life lessons: Dedication to spreading education further has Rahel excited about seeing the world far beyond the school gates.

Just like the nickname her beloved students have given her, determined Rahel is also bound to “soldier” on, study medicine and one day become the doctor she wants to be.

“Because in everything I was doing, I was so fast and pushing everything forward,” she said, explaining how her encouraging tactics earned her the nickname. “I would say go faster, otherwise we wouldn’t cover the courses because in government schools we have less time and resources.”

Just like Rahel, you too can support our school! Donate to our Area of Greatest Need.

Four of The School of St Jude’s most dedicated community service graduates are enjoying the trip of a lifetime, thanks to school ambassador and Hollywood star Rebel Wilson.

The Australian-born actress has shown her generosity by paying to bring four of the Tanzanian school’s highest achievers to America, where she treated them to a cultural tour which included a VIP visit to Disneyland, a live baseball game, tickets to her Hollywood Bowl performance and much more.

Rahel, Anna, Joseph and Enock come from impoverished families and earned scholarships to receive a free, high-quality education at The School of St Jude.

The quartet is part of an extraordinary inaugural graduating class that showed its gratitude by volunteering in local communities through the Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Program, which has reached more than 10,000 students in under-resourced government schools.

Rebel, who is St Jude’s official ambassador and a long-time student sponsor, said a trip to “the happiest place on earth” was a perfect way to reward these generous young graduates.

“When I was younger my grandmother brought me to California and apart from being amazingly fun, it opened my imagination as to what was possible in my life,” Rebel said of their adventure.

“Not only have these students shone academically but they have also completed a whole year of community service, teaching children in their respective villages.

“This is a fun, cultural trip that I personally wanted to provide to these talented students before they start university later this year.”

American vacation: Joseph, Rahel, Rebel, Anna and Enoch behind the scenes at The Hollywood Bowl, where Rebel played villain Ursula in Disney's The Little Mermaid live show.

Rebel also paid to bring Beyond St Jude’s Manager Angela Bailey, who said the hardest part was selecting just four students of the 50 who participated in the Community Service Program.

“The 50 St Jude’s graduates who volunteered to share their high-quality education through a year of community service before going on to university have all made such a valuable impact,” Angela said.

“Many have gone above and beyond our expectations, so it was very difficult to only choose four who could be thanked in this very special way. Joseph, Anna, Enock and Rahel have had such a wonderful time seeing Los Angeles with someone who has supported our school for so many years, especially someone who has inspired by achieving her own dreams.”

Rebel said their adventure was “everything I had hoped for,” especially the VIP tours of Disneyland and California Adventure Park generously donated by Disney.