The School of St Jude proudly celebrated the graduation of its third intake of Form 4 students who are excitedly preparing to embark on their senior studies.
600 people attended the event recently to see the graduation of 126 Form 4 students at St Jude's Smith Campus. Parents happily watched on as the students received certificates while some parents also collected awards for their good cooperation with the school.
Australian Gemma Sisia founded St Jude’s twelve years ago and it provides a free, high-quality education to the poorest and brightest children in the Arusha region.
While taking a ‘gap year’ is a concept more common amongst school leavers and ‘twenty-somethings’ experiencing an existential crisis, taking 12 months off to travel the globe isn’t just a Gen Y rite of passage. As Peter and Denise Barnett discovered, the world is your oyster no matter how old you are.
The journey
After watching an Australian Story segment called ‘Africa Calling’, Peter learnt about the establishment of the ‘School of St Jude’ in Arusha, Tanzania by Australian, Gemma Sisia.
After the program finished, he checked out the School of St Jude website where he found a role available for a Purchasing Coordinator.
“We decided there and then to give it a shot,” Peter says, “and never had a second thought about whether it was the right decision or not.”
“Before we made the decision to volunteer, we had already decided that climbing the corporate ladder was not for us,” says Peter. “Our daughters were all working, so we had nothing to stop us from taking a leap of faith.”
You spot an awesome job at an NGO and think you tick all the boxes, so you apply and are confident that you will get the job. But you miss out and don’t understand why. What’s missing from your application? Why is it being overlooked?
In my eight years of working in human resources and as the HR manager at The School of St Jude – a nonprofit school serving over 1,800 students in Tanzania – I have sifted through countless applications and know what it takes to make your job application shine. Here are some tips on improving your chances of getting that dream NGO job.
Australian actress Rebel Wilson, known for her roles in Pitch Perfect and Bridesmaids, has visited Tanzania to meet her sponsored student Winnie for the first time.
The two have been sharing letters, gifts and photos for over eight years as Rebel has tried to help Winnie and her family escape the cycle of poverty by sponsoring her high-quality education at The School of St Jude.
Wilson is a long-time supporter of St Jude’s, which is charity school providing over 1800 of the poorest and brightest students in the Arusha region with a free, high-quality education. She visited the school on her way home from filming her upcoming movie Grimsby with Sacha Baron Cohen in South Africa.
While at St Jude’s, Wilson spent time with many of the students, teaching them a song from Pitch Perfect, practicing rapping and learning African dances.
“I loved some of the kids who were particularly interested in singing and dancing, it was really cool to see that and encourage them to be creative, the students here are all very serious and they love their studying so it’s good to do a few creative things as well,” she said.
She also got the chance to visit her sponsor student’s home and saw for herself how Winnie’s placement at the school is not only changing her life, but the life of her entire family.
Wilson’s passion for St Jude’s started in 2006, after she was inspired by a documentary on the School of St Jude and its founder, Gemma Sisia. The two spent time together on safari and at the school.
“We are delighted that Rebel decided to visit the school after being part of the St Jude’s family for the past eight years” said founder, Sisia.
Wilson is an official ambassador for The School of St Jude and believes that the school is creating real change by fighting poverty through education.
“The thing about St Jude’s is you know that you are directly helping people and the quality of the education and the quality of the living conditions here is just so amazing for these kids and it gives them such a headstart in life,” she said.
To learn more about how you can help students like Winnie, click here.
She's famous for making people laugh, but Rebel Wilson has also proved she also has a big heart.
The 28-year-old actress is in South Africa filming her new movie Grimsby with Sacha Baron Cohen.
But the Pitch Perfect star took some time out from her hectic shooting schedule to visit her sponsor child Winnie in Tanzania.
She's busy filming new comedy flick Grimsby in Cape Town.
But on Monday Rebel Wilson took a break from the set to go on a 'Super Fun' African adventure.
The 28-year-old took to Twitter to document a safari trip in Tanzania - one that saw her up close and personal with lions and elephants.
