Meet Pat & Willis Sutliff: Rapid City Rotarians, parents, grandparents, longtime supporters of St Jude’s and members of ‘The American Friends of The School of St Jude’.
It’s been 15 years since the Sutliffs heard Gemma speak at the Rotary International Convention in Brisbane – for them, it was ‘support at first sight!’
Pat and Willis have visited St Jude’s multiple times, advocated for the school in America and sponsored three students.
Last month, the kind and humble pair visited us to see their sponsored student and Community Service Year intern, Robinson. They also came to share in the Graduation Week celebrations with their fellow Rotary club members and visitors from around the world.
The proud sponsors were excited to hear about Robinson's year, mentoring and tutoring St Jude's male boarding students.
Their biggest highlight however, was a bumpy bus ride with Robinson, a translator and skilled driver.
The St Jude’s mini-bus was bogged on the way to their home visit, delaying the journey, but Pat and Willis were determined to get to Robinson’s house on Arusha’s outskirts.
The experience gave Pat an appreciation for our students’ tenacity.
“During the drive, you see how far Robinson travels to reach the school, the state of the roads between the school and his home, and where he must walk to so he can catch the bus,” Pat said.
“The home visit is a very special chance to meet a student’s family. When you arrive at their home, it is very humbling – this proud child with you is working so hard to overcome poverty.”
Robinson’s mother and many neighbours rushed to greet the Sutliffs when they arrived and performed the Maasai vigelegele – a ululated song of welcome and celebration.
“During a home visit, you have a chance to share your pride of the student with people who love them. Seeing their gratitude and how much the whole family, as well as neighbours, value the student’s education is truly amazing,” Pat and Willis said.
The Sutliffs walked away from the experience knowing just how much of a difference their support makes.
“We are very lucky to be part of this young man’s life. We have so much and they have so little as far as material things are concerned. But, he has great determination and is working hard to have a better life for himself, his family and his community.
What Robinson is doing with his life is very inspiring.”
“The home visit really cements a special bond between you and the student you support.”
You can have the same impact as the Sutliffs on one of our students - check out our sponsorship program today!
This month, we cast the spotlight on a few members of the St Jude’s community, ‘fighting poverty through education’ in creative and exciting ways!
Miles Of Love
Students and staff at St Aloysius College in Adelaide strapped on their sneakers to raise over $5000 for our school.
Funds raised from the Walkathon and Mercy Day Carnival will be put to good use, servicing and maintaining a St Jude's bus for an entire year.
“As a Mercy school, a commitment to justice is at the heart of all we do,” Principal, Paddy McEvoy, said.
“St Jude’s mission of 'fighting poverty through education,’ makes it a true work of mercy in our world.”
Year 12 students Maddie, Clare, Dimiti and Anna went the extra mile, making and selling blue and yellow ribbons to their peers.
“We feel proud to know that the money raised will go directly to where it is needed!”
The young leaders raised $210, which will provide seven St Jude’s students with a year’s worth of fruit – it doesn’t get much sweeter than that!
‘Tech Won’ Thanks To TechOne!
TechnologyOne employees from across the globe banded together to raise an amazing $40,700 for our school!
A number of fundraisers were held throughout the year, and corporate donors were inspired by the school's story at TechnologyOne’s annual December Fundraising Appeal auction and their Evolve Conference.
All money raised from these events was generously matched $3 for $1 by TechnologyOne.
Thanks to their efforts, we are able to upgrade our servers and update a computer lab of laptops with the latest licensing of Windows and Microsoft Office.
Three cheers for Executive Chairman, Adrian Di Marco and TechnologyOne supporters, who are powering our student’s education and helping them stay connected!
Talking It Up
Our long-time friend, Noela, makes her mark by sharing the St Jude’s story with anyone who’ll listen.
The former Special Needs teacher has spent the last two years speaking at Rotary clubs on behalf of St Jude’s, helping to raise thousands of dollars.
“Of course I get nervous on each occasion; however, the story of St Jude’s must be told. I am telling the story for the students. It is my duty to encourage anyone who’ll listen.”
Recently, the Gladstone Rotary Club generously presented Noela with a cheque for $1090.
The Rotary Club of Mt Isa were also more than happy for Noela to drop by and introduce them to St Jude’s, “they donated all the coin and a few notes from a Sargeant’s session that very evening,” Noela said.
“With hundreds of local charities requiring Rotary’s support, it’s an honour to accept donations for St Jude’s! I always think of how I would feel living in the shoes of Tanzanian children who have the same hopes, dreams and aspirations of a better life as we do, but are denied an education because they are poor."
"This is reason enough to act and assist in any way I can.”
To invite Noela to speak at your next event, contact her at: nphil4@gmail.com.
Big Art From A Huge Heart
A visit to The School of St Jude in February 2016 inspired Gerrit Faber to use his awesome artistry as a way of raising funds. Gerrit is the father of past St Jude’s volunteer, Thomas.
Gerrit hosted an exhibition of his portraits in December, titled ‘Sterke Mannen – Strong Men’.
“Thomas spoke on the night and sparked everyone’s interest in the way St Jude's changes children's lives with education. The event was a great success!” Gerrit said.
Each painting was whisked off the wall and $1500 was raised – enough to provide a classroom with internet for a year and fund our security for a season.
We thank these two ‘sterke mannen’ and all our supporters in Amsterdam for their generous contribution!
You too can be a super supporter – why not think of creative ways to host a fundraiser?
“I am…,” Joseph thinks seriously while his eyes flicker and curl into the lines of his broad smile. “I am honest, I am responsible and I am one for dreaming."
“I like to sing and dance with my sister. I like my family. I like football and running. And I know I smile so much, they said that to me when the famous runners came,” he said.
Last month, the Queen’s Baton Relay passed through St Jude’s. Joseph had the chance to touch the baton.
“I felt like a king, because it is coming from the queen in Britain,” he beamed.
Joseph is the king of his household, a king who is very happy to do the dishes. He lives with his mother Susan and his older sister, Felista.
“My mum she works hard for me so that any problem can go away,” he said.
“I help in chores and cleaning, even when she doesn’t ask.”
Joseph says he doesn’t fight with his sister, they only disagree sometimes.
“My heroes are my mum and my sister. With my sister, if I have anything, we share. If anything is disturbing me, I go and ask her or, if she is having a problem, she comes and talks to me.”
Joseph’s mother, Susan, had no access to formal education; she has done everything within her means to make sure her children do.
“Everyone was saying, St Jude is the best for students and is for free, my mum, she told me we must go for testing, and we went very early, in the dark,” Joseph said.
“She was so proud when I was accepted. She was congratulating me, she was celebrating. She gave me a big hug,” he said with the broadest smile.
Parental education is the single most important determinant of childhood poverty, according to UNICEF’s Child Poverty in Tanzania 2016 report.
For Joseph and 1800 other students, an education at St Jude’s means he can break the cycle of poverty. - 80% of our graduates’ families have been lifted out of extreme poverty.
Joseph knows how lucky he is to have this chance. He is often reminded of this by his favourite teacher.
“Ms. Anna encourages us. She is my only teacher who is a girl and she teaches very well. She knows where she came from; she told us that she started learning under a tree, so she reminds us we are having a free, private education and should always study hard, for everyone.”
Despite dancing, at school, home and sometimes on his way to class Joseph wants even lighter feet.
“In the future, I want to be a good man and I want to be a pilot because I dream of flying.
A pilot is someone who needs to be very happy and smile and kind to everyone and smart,” he said.
Thanks to the support of people around the world, who may never see his smile in action, Joseph’s dreams are already coming true.
"I remember when I first put on my first uniform for St Jude’s," he said, “I felt like I was flying.”
Donate today to make a difference in the life of a student like Joseph.
On her Australian tour, Winrose visited some of Australia’s most noted attractions and met thousands of kind, generous and funny supporters of our school.
The highlight of her time in Australia, though, is an absolute no brainer - spending some quality time with the two families who made her life at St Jude’s possible.
Winrose says she would never have been able to reach her dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer without the support of her sponsors.
“I have two sponsor families and it was amazing to get to know them and to be able to share with them what they have helped me achieve so far,” Winrose said.
“Before then, I couldn’t understand how or why people who didn’t know me at all would want to help my education at St Jude’s.”
In Melbourne, she met the incredibly generous Winsome and Patrick Ha, and their children, Noah and Abigail, who co-sponsored Winrose through her final three years at St Jude’s and are supporting her Community Service Year.
Later in her trip across Australia, Winrose met the Stone family, who have been sponsoring the young scholar, ambassador and future leader, since she arrived at St Jude’s in 2010.
Winrose was full of joy as she told her sponsors about her upcoming travels to the United States, where she will be attending Trinity College as one of the first benefactors of St Jude’s partnership with the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at the African Leadership Academy.
“It was amazing to meet them and get to know them. I will be thinking of their generosity and their support when I go to university and when I begin my career as an aeronautical engineer. It’s something that truly inspires me,” Winrose said.
The Ha family shared a little about their experience meeting Winrose and what a difference sponsorship at St Jude’s has made in their lives.
“When we heard Winrose was coming to Australia, it felt like an answered prayer! We felt like proud parents and could not wait to tell Winrose that,” Winsome said, adding that Winrose is their second St Jude’s sponsor student.
“We are a family of four but in many ways we are a family of more, because the children we have had the blessed opportunity to sponsor have become part of our family as well,” Winsome said.
“We are just an average Aussie family, by no means are we a super wealthy family. In fact we live on one income. But we make sponsoring children a priority, because a few dollars a day, donated to sponsorship can make a huge impact, change lives and brightens futures,” Patrick said.
“It’s worth every cent.”
Want to help a student like Winrose fulfil their dreams? Become a sponsor today.
Unique Safari’s Meg Katzman came across The School of St Jude years ago when she was looking for “interesting and unique cultural excursions” for her clients.
Not only did she find the perfect place to send visitors to in Arusha, Tanzania, but also an organisation with “utter commitment to the students in all capacities” and one that has impressed her so thoroughly that she has since decided to recognise St Jude’s in her will.
“From the moment I stepped onto the St Jude’s primary campus at Moshono (in Arusha) I was impressed with the integrity of the organisation,” she said.
“Every aspect of daily life that could impact academic success was considered in the daily operations and policies and that was impressive indeed.”
Meg knows what she’s talking about when it comes to NGOs – she was CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities in Minneapolis, USA, for 16 years.
She said it was important for donors to know the impact their gift has on an individual or organisation overall, and that is something she found in St Jude’s.
“I knew right away that I wanted to not only help the School but I wanted to have a personal satisfaction in helping a deserving student to realise their dreams,” she said.
“I think The School of St Jude does a very effective job connecting me to Hadija (Meg’s sponsored student since 2012) on a routine basis.”
While Meg splits her time between the USA, where she is now on the board of American Friends of The School of St Jude, she also often visits Tanzania as Director of Sales and Marketing for Unique Safaris, which is based in Arusha.
“I have been blessed in my work life to have a number of meaningful job opportunities which made a difference in other people’s lives,” she said, explaining how important and rewarding her total of 33 years in fundraising has been.
“It is a joyful process because people are internally satiated when they find an organisation that shares their values.”
In St Jude’s, Meg has found an organisation that will ensure she has a lasting impact.
“In Judaism, charity and kindness are essential acts to live a spiritual life,” Meg explained.
“There are actually eight levels of charity but the highest level is to give a gift that allows a person to be able to support themselves and live a life outside of poverty. So my gift to The School of St Jude fulfills me on a personal and spiritual level.
“At this point in my life I start to think about how my donations will live a life of their own and The School of St Jude is the perfect choice for me.”
Join Meg and St Jude’s in fighting poverty through education. Find out more by downloading our Wills and Bequests Information pack, or by making a donation.
Generous Aussies are about to find out how they have been instrumental in providing life-changing education in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Former Australian teacher Gemma Sisia opened the gates to The School of St Jude 15 years ago in Tanzania and now, thanks to the support of thousands of Australians, 1,800 promising yet impoverished students have access to a free, high-quality education.
Gemma and one of the inspirational students whose life has been changed by generosity, and the belief that education can combat poverty, will be in the country this month to share their story.
Winrose Mollel graduated last year at the top of her class and was the first St Jude’s graduate to be accepted into university through The School of St Jude’s partnership with The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at ALA.
Later this year, Winrose will head to Trinity College in Connecticut, USA, to begin living her dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer.
“Being offered a scholarship at St Jude’s has changed my life,” Winrose said.
“It has made such a difference and given me the assurance that I could achieve my dream which I never had before at my government school.”
Like many people in Tanzania, Winrose came from extreme poverty, growing up in a rural village where she helped her farmer father raise her younger sister and shared household duties after her mother passed when she was in primary school.
Most girls in similar situations in Tanzania have no choice but to drop out of school, but Winrose was committed to getting an education.
As a primary school student, she walked 2.5km to school each day, shared a desk with five others, had no books, no meals and sometimes no teacher, but she was pushed by a desire to make a brighter future for her family.
“Sometimes I got so hungry during the school day that I developed stomach ulcers. It was hard to study when there were no teachers and no books,” Winrose said. “Now, thanks to St Jude’s, somebody who didn’t know me - had no idea I existed - decided to sponsor me and I’m so thankful and proud to say it has been a good investment.”
In Tanzania, 66.6% of people do not reach secondary school and less than 3.2% make it to the final two years of school. Winrose and her fellow St Jude’s graduates are proof that we are making a difference in the fight against poverty in Tanzania.
“The School of St Jude now has about 1,800 students who have a real chance to escape poverty because they receive a free, high-quality education,” Gemma said. “It’s a dream that we’ve worked hard on, and these amazing students and their families would never have had the opportunity without the support of so many Australians.”
Give Gemma and Winrose a true blue welcome this March!
Our school has only managed to be a success thanks to people like you!
Come along to an event to hear from Gemma and Winrose about the amazing impact you are, or can, make today. Check out the events where they will appear in March and join us in fighting poverty through education!
