It's dress rehearsal for the inaugural graduation ceremony at the School of St Jude in Arusha, Tanzania, and the formidable Gemma Sisia is trying to convince me she has pulled back from supervising every detail at the school she founded 13 years ago. But with five days to go before the big event, it doesn't look that way. "I don't want to see any wiggly lines like snakes," she instructs the 61 students who are making an untidy approach to the stage and singing too softly for Sisia's liking. "Do you not know the Tanzania national anthem? Prove it to me!" They crank up the volume. "Beautiful. Excellent. Perfect!"
Every one of the 61 students graduating is expected to go on to university and every one of their sponsors – 70 of whom are also here from Australia – have vowed to continue their financial support. One of them is Sharon Smith, 60, a Brisbane businesswoman now on her second visit. After watching the program and hearing Sisia speak at a fundraiser in Brisbane, she offered to sponsor ten St Jude students. "I owned a childcare centre. I was making good money, I could afford it," she says. "I get great satisfaction out of it."
The children start here at the age of seven and graduate, if all goes well, at 20. "It makes me happy to think that these children over here are getting a similar education to my granddaughter in Australia and can do just as well as anyone in the world now," says Smith. However, there are still some funding issues at the school.
Around 150 of the students currently do not have a sponsor, and 165 are only half-sponsored. growing up on a fine-wool merino farm outside Guyra, near Armidale in northern NSW, Gemma Rice was a self-described "challenge junkie". As the only girl in a family of eight children, she quickly learnt to compete with her brothers when it came to mustering sheep and riding horses. According to her mother, Sue Rice, she became fearless and fiercely determined. "She was always very definite in her views, even as a little girl," says Rice. "I don't think you could ever talk Gemma into or out of anything."
To say that Sue and her husband, Basil, who died in 2004, were a deeply religious Catholic family would be an understatement. They converted their dining room into a prayer room, complete with crucifix, candles and statues of Jesus. Out in the paddocks, among the sheep, motorbikes and cattle dogs, they constructed their own Stations of the Cross, depicting scenes from the crucifixion of Christ. It was instilled in the children that there was more to life than just having fun.
"My parents put a huge emphasis on our education and I subconsciously absorbed that," says Sisia. "In doing so, I felt that children from poor families should also have access to a good education." From an early age, it was always in the back of her mind that she'd like to become a nun. "I was quite prepared to live in poverty and chastity," Sisia told me in an interview at the property back in 2005. She discussed the idea with her school principal, who thought she was perhaps "too headstrong" to be a nun, and advised her to get a university qualification instead.
After gaining a degree in biochemistry and genetics at Melbourne University – and, for good measure, a diploma in education – Sisia, at 22 and on the advice of a friend, set off for Uganda to work in a convent school. But the idea of becoming a nun or missionary went astray just a few months after her arrival when she took a safari on the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania. Her driver was one Richard Sisia. "There's nothing like falling in love in the Serengeti," she says now. "It's very romantic, with all the animals and lions around."
In the quiet, 27-year-old Tanzanian, she saw kindness, calmness, strength and a sense of adventure. The attraction was mutual. "We loved each other immediately," says Richard. "But I was scared to tell her anything because I was employed by her, and my job was to show [her] animals, not talk about love."
Back at the convent in Uganda, Gemma tried to forget about the holiday romance. She'd given Richard a deliberately vague address when she left him but, three months later, he embarked on an 1100-kilometre quest to find her, travelling for two days and two nights on a bus to reach the central Ugandan town of Masaka.
After three days spent asking around for the mzungu (white) woman, he found her at the convent school. "I was like, 'Thank god I found her,' " he says. "We had big hugs and talked. I spent three more days with her and we talked about being together for life," he says. Gemma's notion of becoming a nun dissolved.
Explaining to her family that she was going to marry a Tanzanian and live her life in Africa wasn't so easy. They pictured her carrying water on her head and living in a mud hut. Also, for Sue Rice, the idea of her being with a local man was confronting. "That was definitely a hard thing for mum to deal with," Sisia's brother Patrick told Australian Story. "Another country, another culture and, I suppose, the colour."
"We were all worried about her but we prayed about it," Rice told me. "And when she really did say she was going to marry him, it was a shock because as a mother, you worry about your daughter's safety." She maintains that Richard's skin colour never worried her; it was Africa that disturbed her.
Sisia had already started collecting $5 a month from friends and family members to sponsor two girls at the convent school in Uganda. On visits home to Australia, she spoke at Rotary clubs and churches about her experiences, with the result that more and more people joined the sponsorship scheme. She began sending money to other Ugandan schools, but was frustrated to learn that some of it was going missing. An idea started to take shape in her head: why not start her own school and so be sure the money was going where it was needed?
The problem was solved when Richard's father, Daniel – a senior Masai man who'd been educated by missionaries and become a vet – offered to donate a small block of land. Though Westernised and middle class, he worked with the Masai people in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Conservation Area. "He said, 'Gemma, why are you helping all these Ugandan kids when we've got much poorer children in Tanzania?'‰Û " she recalls. " 'If I give you a piece of land, would you build a school for the poor?' "
In 2000, Armidale Central Rotary Club sent over 13 volunteers to construct the first block of classrooms. Richard and Gemma were married in a Masai-Catholic ceremony at the school in 2001 and the School of St Jude opened its doors in January, 2002. It was with a wry sense of humour that Gemma chose the name St Jude: "St Jude is the patron saint of hopeless causes. A girl from Guyra trying to build a school in Africa? That's a serious hopeless case!" The motto "Fight poverty through education" was suggested by her mother.
Initially, the school was staffed by an unlikely trio of volunteers: Sisia, who'd never run a school; Angela Bailey, who at 19 had only just completed an early childhood diploma in Sydney; and Kim Saville, 48, who'd previously worked as a Sydney casting agent. "We got away with a lot in the early days because of our naivety," says Saville.
The school grew rapidly. Within three years it had 500 students and was ranked third out of 204 schools in the district. It employed 100 local staff, half of them teachers, and a team of builders who were constantly adding extra classrooms. A $15 million stroke of luck arrived in 2005 when American philanthropists Gordon and Helen Smith visited Tanzania for a safari and decided to give their support to a local school.
When they got to St Jude, they knew they'd found the one they were looking for. "Gemma wasn't here when we arrived, she was in Australia, but we were impressed that the school was operating fine without her," says their daughter, Cindy Skarbek. The Smiths offered to build a second St Jude campus in Arusha, doubling the school's size.
Every Saturday from August to December, hundreds of children line up at the school gates to compete for one of the 150 places on offer each year at various levels. To gain admission, there are just two criteria: the children must be bright and they must be poor. A "poverty check" involves several unscheduled visits to the child's house to check on their living conditions. And while it is a Christian-based school, 20 per cent of the students are Muslim and numerous tribes are represented. "Students are accepted based on brains and poverty, not sex, tribe or religion," says Sisia.
Today, every member of the teaching staff is Tanzanian. Students sit exams five times a year and those who do not achieve grades of at least 70 per cent are unable to stay at St Jude. It's a harsh policy, but one that's enforced not by Sisia but by the parent committee. "That's sustainability for you," she says. "Tanzanians disciplining Tanzanians."
Four years ago, Sisia stepped down as St Jude director to spend more time with her family. The Sisias' two oldest children, Nathaniel, 14, and Jacob, 12, go to boarding school in South Africa (they don't qualify for St Jude), leaving Isabella, 7, and Louisa, 3, at home. Gemma has also helped Richard relaunch his business, which offers 4WD trips through Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya.
The school's parent board asked her to come back because families were worried that without her the school could collapse. Standards were slipping, according to Fausta Alfayo, chairperson of the parent committee. "We want her there to do the push-push-pushing," says Alfayo.
As graduation day gets underway, Sisia takes to the stage. The students excitedly adjust their academic robes and hats, debating in rapid-fire Swahili whether the hats' tassel should hang to the left or right. Her voice cracking with emotion, Sisia welcomes Tanzania's deputy minister of education, parents, visitors – including her mother – and the students. "It seems like yesterday that you enrolled," she tells them.
"From today, I am a leader," affirms student representative Cecilia Collumbus. "We are all leaders. To everyone here today, we promise that we are going to leave a remarkable footprint on the future."
For each alumnus, that future begins with a year of community service, including three months of military service, followed by a "giving back" period of teaching in a Tanzanian government school, before going on to university. Judica Amon, 20, wants to study business. In offering her this education, Sisia has, she believes, saved her and other girls from early marriages and mundane lives: "We call this heaven and it is truly heaven compared to the government schools. It has changed our lives and opened up an opportunity for a great future."
In Tanzania, where a cornfield once lay, there now stands a school. Where kids formerly had no better prospects than minding cows, children are receiving a life-changing education. Sue Rice has no more doubts about her daughter's unexpected path in life, even as she recognises that Gemma is unlikely ever to return to Australia to live. "I am more than proud of what she has achieved," she tells me. "I am in awe of it."
St Jude’s Day was held at the school’s Moshono campus, where baskets of gifts were gathered to be distributed to community members in need.
“It is the day we all remember our patron St Jude by praying together, giving thanks to God, and taking gift and cash collections to support other people in need,” lower primary headmaster George Stephen said.
“All students of St Jude’s must acknowledge and give thanks by blessing others with gifts, to symbolize their gratitude to the sponsors, donors and all staff who make it possible for them to have the high-quality and free education they receive.”
The day began with a special morning mass and was followed by a fun-filled afternoon of entertainment, where teachers and students of every grade took to the stage to perform. A panel of judges decided on the best acts of the event.
Almost 2000 students from the Arusha region, between Standard 1 and Form 6, attend St Jude’s three charity-funded campuses.
St Jude, whom the day is named after, is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. He was one of Jesus’ 12 apostles and became associated with desperate situations due to a letter he wrote to the Churches of the East, in which he says that the faithful must keep going even in harsh or difficult circumstances.
Justin may only have been at The School of St Jude in Tanzania for the last two years of his secondary schooling, but the impact of that education will last a lifetime.
“I came from a government school so I know how much the students need help there,” he said, on the cusp of graduating from secondary at St Jude’s in May this year.
“For example, last year at our (government school’s) graduation, only seven students graduated out of something like 280. Only seven students; I decided that it would be better to help those people and I’m ready to help.”
So he did.
Justin has spent the months since graduation teaching 40 students at his local government school, like many of his classmates, through the Beyond St Jude’s community service program.
The year-long program is designed to spread the free, first-rate education St Jude’s students receive to those who attend severely under-resourced government schools.
School founder Gemma Sisia began her mission to establish a school in line with her belief that a free, high-quality education should be accessible to all children and is of particular importance to those who grow up surrounded by poverty, corruption and political instability.
Gemma was gifted plot of land by her father-in-law in 1998, and received her first donation of AU$10 towards the school in 1999.
St Jude’s opened its gates to three students and one teacher in 2002, and has grown into an institution now educating almost 2000 desperately underprivileged yet promising students across three campuses, and providing hope for the future of Tanzania.
The first St Jude’s secondary school graduation this year was a milestone event, realising the dreams of the entire school community and firmly establishing the credibility of the St Jude’s education model.
Gemma-group-happy-graduationThe quality of education St Jude’s has carefully constructed is clear, with Justin’s Form 6 (Grade 12) class of 61 students not only all graduating, but more than half of them doing so by achieving the highest possible mark of ‘Distinction’.
As the very first graduating class in St Jude’s 13-year existence, they also ranked in the top 10% in Tanzania for chemistry, economics, advanced mathematics and physics. The results placed them third in their region and twenty-fifth in the nation.
The Beyond St Jude’s community service program has been well-received by the graduates, many of whom plan to attend university afterwards, but for now are resolutely stepping up to the challenge and believing in its value.
Those stepping up, like Justin, are provided with a kit of essential teaching materials (text books, etc) and prepared with a week-long Work Readiness workshop. The Beyond St Jude’s team continually reinforce their teaching with support visits and mentorship.
Esther, who teaches up to 90 students in a class, said she has felt accepted, respected and appreciated by students, some of whom are obviously struggling. “Some of the students in Form IC (the first year of high school) cannot even write their own names,” she said.
Tumaini, whose largest maths class has 46 students, said the internship has given him a huge understanding of Tanzanian government education and about how to work best with students.
“I have realized why many students in Tanzania fail so much,” he said.
“St Jude’s is an example to be followed as far as educating a child goes. If I had remained in my former school, 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. This is a lesson to me that a student isn’t the one to blame; instead, they should be listened to and we should try to understand the troubles which could be the reason for their failure”.
These shortcomings in the Tanzanian education system are what spurred Gemma to create The School of St Jude. The 43-year-old mother of four remains heavily involved in the school and said it could not have been done without the support she has passionately lobbied for throughout the years.
“To see how education is hugely changing people’s lives is very special,” she said. “It would have been impossible to make it this far without each and every one of those who have shared that vision of a better future through education.”
A BOURNEMOUTH woman discovered the power of education for disadvantaged children during a visit to a ‘life-changing’ school in Tanzania.
Louise Scott spent two nights at The School of St Jude with her partner George Spring and his daughter, Isabella. After climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Louise and her group paid a visit to the school and met the pupils and teachers there.
She said: “From the minute we got on the bus to the moment we got off, the students sung songs to us the whole way.
“They were so happy and singing about how they wanted to be a pilot through education, or a teacher through education, or a doctor through education.
“You look at kids in the Western world today and then you see these kids who are happy, enthusiastic and have amazing attitudes. And then you watch where they get off the bus – it’s confronting and makes you realise how totally life-changing St Jude’s is to these kids.
“They have nothing, absolutely nothing, and they come here to get an education when they never would have had that opportunity in a million years otherwise, so it’s really great.”
Louise, who hails from Bournemouth but now lives in Australia, said the visit was particularly special as they had a chance to meet the student her partner’s parents sponsor.
“It was lovely to meet the kids, they were gorgeous,” she said. “I don’t know if George’s parents will ever make it over to Tanzania but for them to just know how their student is getting on will mean a lot."
She added it was reassuring visiting a developing country and seeing for herself where donations were going. “The wonderful thing about St Jude’s, from our perspective, is that you know your money is going to the children.”
She continued: “From the fact they get fed three meals a day, which they probably wouldn’t get at home, they get an education and the teachers genuinely, really care about what they do."
I went for a jog this afternoon.
It may have been hot, bone-dry and dusty, and I shared the animal dung-peppered village paths with all sorts of exhaust-billowing vehicles, but this afternoon's exercise will likely be some of the best I'll ever experience.
Because, despite all that, every run my husband and I have taken through this Tanzanian village features grinning, excited, giggling children holding out their hands for high-fives as we pass, sometimes running barefoot alongside us until they get bored of this strange 'muzungu' ('white person' in Swahili) game.
Tanzanian locals often seem to wonder why anyone would run in this heat and sympathetically call out 'pole' ('sorry for you') when they aren't trying politely to greet you.
Going for a run on the Sunshine Coast in Australia is a very different experience from that in Arusha, Tanzania, but it's one of many memories we'll cherish from the year we are spending volunteering at a successful, Australian-founded school here.
We've been here at The School of St Jude for almost six months and genuinely feel like we're helping the almost 2000 deserving, in-need students here achieve a quality education in a third-world country.
Established 13 years ago, the 100 percent charity-funded school has also improved the whole area economically by employing more than 300 locals and sourcing the majority of food and materials locally. It's a model genuinely needed in this country, where only 2.4 percent of the population completes high school, and the majority of families live on less than $1.25 a day. Living like that would be unimaginable to most Australians, but we've seen it done here, and with dignity and genuine appreciation.
We heard of the school only two months before we arrived. We had recently married and the previous seven or eight years of long hours were spent working professionally as journalists. All this hard work was, in a perfect world, supposed to lead to our own comfortable home where we could raise the family we were often asked about. Yet the figures seemed increasingly unrealistic, and change became more appealing.
Packing up and going to live in Africa was only really a dream, but once we applied to St Jude's and received prompt requests for Skype interviews things snowballed. Sure, we could have hunkered down and applied for other well-paid positions and continued to work for that Great Australian Dream, but...
Here we are.
And we've certainly landed in the right part of Africa. No Ebola. No Boko Haram. Tanzania is actually one of the few constantly peaceful countries on the continent, and it's easy to grasp how, when their friendly, easygoing way envelops you.
The Arusha region may be the fourth most populous city in Tanzania yet it's virtually a big village. Aforementioned dirt roads, close neighbours, a few pubs, ownerless dogs, locals draped in colourful fabrics selling fresh produce and so many children it's hard to tell who belongs to who.
Those children flash big cheeky grins and hold their arms out wide to be lifted up and swung around as we pass. It's wonderful and trusting, similar to what I imagine perhaps 1950s suburban Australia might have been like.
Swahili, the national language, is phonetic and relatively easy to learn, particularly as most Tanzanians are happy to help anyone who'll give it a go. However, it can be very important to get the details right, as my husband discovered when he told some good-natured guys at a bar that we had recently been to 'Penis River' (the words 'penis' and 'mosquito' are uncomfortably similar).
I've since found out it's also good to keep in mind the wording when asking for a knife and fork... not a knife and a vagina.
Since living in Tanzania, I'm almost ashamed of the stress we put on ourselves back in Oz, debating what things we would be giving up (many of them materialistic) to volunteer here (for a stipend that covers living costs).
The appreciation for the very basics in life here is something we can all learn from. Only time will tell if we've committed career suicide or we've opened new doors for when we decide to return to the land Down Under. But so far it has been a fulfilling, fun, eye-opening experience.
And we'll always have Penis River.
The School of St Jude has a noble mission: to educate disadvantaged, bright students from the Arusha District to become moral and intellectual leaders in their country and for St Jude's to thereby demonstrate educational leadership in Tanzania.
To make it happen, the nonprofit provides a quality education to 150 new students every year - putting the utmost thought, care and investment into everything from computer and science classes to nutritious meals and student welfare.
As much as possible the school is staffed by local employees, and international volunteers like Naomi Hockins provide their expertise and mentoring in one and two-year stints. And as Hockins tells Goodnet in this week’s 10 Good Questions, it’s an empowering experience for everyone involved.
1. What is your organization’s mission?
The School of St Jude was started to provide free, high quality education to promising, yet disadvantaged, Tanzanians.
Our motto is “fighting poverty through education.”
We currently offer almost 2,000 scholarships, and our ultimate goal is to equip these students with the skills to become well-rounded future leaders.
2. What makes you guys different from the rest?
We’re locally-based, and have been part of the community for more than a decade.
The majority of St Jude’s staff (93%) are Tanzanian or East African and there are local representatives at every level of our organization, including the board. We employ 318 local people, who support more than 1,800 people in the surrounding community.
I am an international volunteer at the school, one of about 20 from the US, Australia, New Zealand, France, Holland and the UK, who are hired to provide expertise and mentoring.
We receive a stipend to cover our living costs, and our eventual goal is to make our volunteer positions redundant by training our local colleagues.
3. Offices or open work space?
Our business office, situated on-site at the primary school in Arusha, is an open work space which encourages people from different teams (from Donor Relations and Finance, to Marketing and Community Relations) to contribute towards the best outcome for any project.
Chatting with dedicated people from a variety of backgrounds also makes each day fun and interesting.
4. What three words describe your organization?
Empowering, innovative, dedicated.
5. What inspires you?
The students. They’re smart and friendly, humble and generous. As a middle-class Australian I could not have imagined the circumstances these children are born into, and they genuinely value and appreciate the opportunity a placement at St Jude’s means.
6. What is the best part about your job?
I’m so fortunate to be a key part of those who spread the word of our school through our media coverage. I love hearing the stories from our clever, witty, diverse and genuine students and colleagues, and am proud that I am helping provide a future they would otherwise be unlikely to have.
7. Does your team eat lunch together?
The majority of our business office eats a traditional Tanzanian school lunch with the lower primary students and teaching staff each day.
Nothing’s better than having a good conversation with co-workers (and learning a bit of Swahili) as the excited students get stuck into their meals.
It’s a wonderfully grounding experience. It’s impossible not to enjoy lunch with cheeky little students flashing shy smiles between bites, and it’s a great reminder of why we do what we do.
8. Facebook or Twitter?
We use both Facebook and Twitter, as well as Instagram. Our supporters are all over the world. We use social media to connect with them and share all the joy on campus.
9. What do you want Goodnet users to know about your organization?
We provide a high-quality education to the most disadvantaged students in a country where just 2.4% of the population graduates high school.
St Jude’s is a well-rounded, well thought-out set-up that ensures students are in good health, and provides additional support so they can get the most from their studies.
This year, our very first senior graduating class showed what community-focused young leaders they have become. The majority volunteered in the Beyond St Jude’s community service year, where they are sharing their skills with students in 21 local government schools.
We are creating leaders who are going to make a difference in Tanzania.
10. How can people get involved?
Help educate the future leaders of Tanzania by finding out more at our website! You can sponsor a student and/or teacher, or simply donate towards the cost of running the school.
We work hard to ensure the sponsorship relationship is a rewarding one, with 64% of sponsors giving for over three years and 45% sponsoring for five years of more.
And of course, helping spread the word about our school by telling others about us also goes a long way!
