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!
The School of St Jude in northern Tanzania fights poverty through education. You won’t find it highlighted in glossy travel brochures but it’s a memorable destination and a worthwhile experience. While not the journey, it can be a fulfilling detour.
The story of St Jude’s has been told through its inspiring and indefatigable founder, Gemma Sisia AM, a finalist for Australian of the Year and twice featured on ABC TV’s Australian Story. Gemma tells me how, as a young backpacker in East Africa, she was appalled by local government schools and “naively” wondered why these kids “born with the same brains as you or me” didn’t have a quality education.
(Most Tanzanians receive only primary schooling, which is conducted in Swahili. Only exceptional, or rich, children are taught in government secondary schools — in English.)
