November 14, 2017

Victory Beyond St Jude's

Community Service Year intern, Vicky, passes on the gift of a St Jude’s education.

Vicky is one of Beyond St Jude’s newest Community Service Year interns. Confident and motivated, she’s having an impact on almost 300 government school students, who otherwise wouldn’t have a mathematics teacher. 

Vicky attended the primary school linked to the government secondary school she now teaches at, before she was accepted into St Jude’s for Standard 2 in 2006. 

More than 10 years after her St Jude’s journey began, she’s well on her way to achieving success, thanks to her free, quality education. 

No first day jitters: Vicky has always been reliable and self-assured.
No first day jitters: Vicky has always been reliable and self-assured.

“I feel great. I have the chance to teach these students what I know, and make sure they reach where I am. I was once like them.” 

“Every student has come from a different background and most of them are poor, so being with them and helping them is teaching me a lot of things.”

Community Service Year interns are able to empathise with the students they teach, as St Jude’s graduates know all too well the perils of growing up in poverty. 

Vicky was raised by a courageous single mother in a village near our Sisia primary campus. Her mother worked as a labourer on building sites while raising her only daughter. 

A mother's love: Vicky hopes to make her mother and grandmother proud.
A mother's love: Vicky hopes to make her mother and grandmother proud.

Resilient and headstrong, Vicky is determined to now be the first person in her family to receive a tertiary qualification. 

“In my family, it is me, my mother and my grandmother and none of them have been to university.”

“After finishing my Community Service Year, I would like to attend Sokoine University of Agriculture or the University of Dar es Salaam.” 

“Most people will say that if they are educated, they will get good jobs and then they will be able to earn money so they won’t be poor again, but I think it’s much more than that.”

“I don’t just think that if you study, you get a job, you get paid. I think education opens your mind, you start thinking outside the box.”

“You see it’s not just about you being rich, it’s about thinking more deeply about society.” 

Born to lead: Vicky's always been a natural at the chalkboard.
Born to lead: Vicky's always been a natural at the chalkboard.

The aspiring agricultural economist sets high expectations for herself, and she holds similar hopes for her students. 

“I’m the kind of person who wants quick results. I’m trying to move the students with the lowest scores to the front of the classroom, so I can attend to them individually, and ask if they understand.” 

“I’ll be happy if all my kids get As or Bs.” 

Teaching the next generation: Being a good role model is important to all our CSY interns.
Teaching the next generation: Being a good role model is important to all our CSY interns.

In addition to providing underprivileged students with a quality learning experience, Vicky sets an example they’ll follow in years to come: to work hard and try their best. 

“I would just like to make sure that all of them believe in themselves, believe that they can do everything because it’s not that they cannot do things, they can, they just don’t trust in themselves so if I make them believe in themselves, I think they can do great things.”

With her ambition, Vicky is sure to achieve great things, and inspire others to do the same along the way. Find out more about the Beyond St Jude’s program and how you can support students like her.

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