With Giving Tuesday almost upon us, we are calling upon all people of goodwill to help create lasting change for our students.
You are giving a gift to support St Jude’s to deliver a free, high-quality education and improve the lives of 1,800 of Tanzanian students who come from backgrounds of severe poverty.
There are several significant ways you can join the cause and deliver opportunity, hope and prosperity to people in need this holiday season.
One of the ways you can help is by signing on to sponsor an academic scholarship for one of our students.
You may remember Kevin, one of our very first American St Jude’s supporters, who featured in our August newsletter. Kevin and his wife, Mary Beth, began sponsoring an academic scholarship for young Musa during their initial visit to St Jude’s in 2004.
Musa is currently a Beyond St Jude’s participant who, as a part of his Community Service Year, voluntarily teaches mathematics at an under-resourced government school near our Sisia Primary Campus. His scholarship is still sponsored by Kevin and Mary Beth, who could not be more proud of Musa’s success.
“Through sponsorship, we have affected areas of Musa’s life we never imagined. [His family] lives very modestly but had previously been exceptionally poor. Because we were paying for Musa’s education, they saved enough money to build a home,” Kevin said.
“It’s important for Mary Beth and I to continue supporting Musa’s scholarship into his Community Service Year, because I’m aware that people can be given a great education through high school and when it’s over, they have no integration. This is a brilliant part of Gemma’s master plan, because these graduates have fertile ground to grow from rather than being left on cold pavement outside the door,” he explained.
Sponsorship means our students have access to safe, private transport via our fleet of 29 school buses. It enables 1,372 students between Standard 5 and Form 6 to have a safe and conducive environment for learning in secure boarding accommodation.
St Jude’s serves 29,000 free, hot meals per week to students and staff, keeping students’ stomachs full and fuelling their appetite for learning.
While many of our students’ scholarships are either fully or partially sponsored, there are still some who do not have their scholarships fully sponsored. The gap is covered by our Unsponsored Student Fund.
Your donation to the Unsponsored Student Fund helps us to close the gap and open our gates to 1,800 students each year, even if we have not managed to find people to fully sponsor all of them.
Sponsorship, however, is not the only way to make a tangible impact on our students’ education.
Making a general donation to The School of St Jude means we can address pressing, immediate needs of our school community.
Earlier this year, a large portion of the boundary wall at Smith Secondary Campus was swept away by torrential rains. Donations from our international family of supporters allowed us to repair the damage.
It takes a lot to keep a school like St Jude’s running each year. Our priority is to continue promising everything our students need to reach their potential and become community-focused leaders of tomorrow.
What are you waiting for? There’s no better time of year to give a gift that will improve someone’s life. Sponsor or donate today to give a Tanzanian student the chance to prosper.
St Jude’s Earlyactors, Interactors and Rotaractors have been busying themselves with several significant projects during the second half of this year! Read on to find out what they’ve been up to, and a special announcement about St Jude’s Rotary Specialist, Laura!
WORLD CLEANUP DAY
St Jude’s participated in World Cleanup Day, a globally recognised initiative that mobilises local communities to rid their streets of waste and dispose of rubbish responsibly.
Rubbish pollution is a huge problem in Tanzania, with little formal regulating or waste disposal. On World Cleanup Day, 16 members of our Interact and Rotaract clubs assembled bright and early in Moshono, where Sisia Primary Campus is located, and filled nine industrial-sized garbage bags with waste found along the roadside.
Members of the team remarked that they felt happy to contribute positively to the local community and the environment. They made sure to have funat the same time, competing amongst themselves to see who could collect the most rubbish!
END POLIO NOW WALK
World Polio Day is commemorated annually on October 24. Polio, a preventable disease, remains prominent in parts of Africa. Despite intermittent weather conditions, Rotary, Rotaract and Interact groups from around Arusha walked six kilometres to raise awareness and funds to end polio. St Jude’s Founder, Gemma Sisia, joined the walk with our Interactors and Rotaractors.
“It was wonderful to see our school represented by so many passionate students and staff, in solidarity with Arusha’s strong Rotary community,” Gemma said.
DISTRICT GOVERNOR VISIT
Hot on the heels of the End Polio Now Walk, came a visit to Arusha from Rotary District Governor, Sharmilla Bhatt. DG Sharmilla Bhatt attended the Rotary Club of Arusha’s meeting on October 29, to which St Jude’s Earlyactors received an invitation.
At the meeting, Earlyactors performed their original sustainability song, titled, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, for the Rotarians. The performance received a standing ovation!
“Rotarians and the District Governor joined us to sing the chorus, we taught them the words. They all told us we had done a good job to make such a nice song!” Theresia, an Earlyactor in Standard 6, said.
PAUL HARRIS FELLOWSHIP
In the presence of Earlyactors and fellow Rotarians from the Rotary Club of Arusha, our very own Rotary Specialist, Laura, was awarded a Paul Harris Fellowship by DG Sharmilla Bhatt.
At 27 years old, Laura is the second-youngest Rotarian in District 9211 and, since arriving in Arusha in March, has made a significant contribution to the Rotary community – hence her nomination for the fellowship by the Rotary Club of Arusha.
Paul Harris Fellowships recognise individuals who contribute, or who have contributions made in their name, of $1,000 to The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Laura now joins the ranks of notable figures, including past United States Presidents, astronauts and philanthropists, who have received the honour!
“I was shocked and humbled on being awarded the Paul Harris Fellow. To have been recognised for my contribution in such a short span of time is really touching.”
“This gives me a level of credibility when talking to Rotarians anywhere. It validates my contribution to Rotary.”
ST JUDE’S DAY GIVING
Each year at our St Jude’s Day celebrations, students and their families donate small household goods to local orphanages and community centres, who also support some of Arusha’s most vulnerable people. It is a chance for our students to give thanks through service for the benefits they reap at St Jude’s.
On November 2, Earlyactors, secondary students and members of staff visited the centres to distribute their gifts.
Sayuni, also an Earlyactor in Standard 6, expressed joy at being able to give back to the community.
“It felt good [to give gifts] because it taught me how to help other people who are in need. It was fun because we spent time with children in the orphanages, answering their questions and encouraging each other to study hard,” she said.
Our students love giving back to their community. Give them a hand up by making a donation to St Jude’s.
