The School of St Jude in Tanzania is blown away by generous locals of Young and surrounds who believe in fighting poverty through education and creating a lasting legacy of impact.
Founded by Australian humanitarian Gemma Sisia in 2002, The School of St Jude is one of the largest charity schools in Africa, providing free scholarships to 100% of its 1,800 primary and secondary school students every year.
The school not only provides education but plays a significant role improving economic, social and health outcomes for families.
The school supports the local community through jobs, where 98 percent of all staff are Tanzanians.
Gemma and a graduate of the school, John Stanley, visited Young Golf Club to share firsthand the incredible impact the school and the Australians who support it, has had on students, the local community and Tanzania.
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To date, more than 90 percent of the school’s revenue is from Australians.
The event was organised by some passionate community members and the Rotary Club of Young.
Megan Gorham said close to 100 people of all ages attended the evening.
They were captivated by Gemma’s and John’s presentations and in awe of the impact the school has had.
Local David Hamblin also shared some of his family’s experience when visiting the school.
“Australians have been supporting St Jude’s from the very beginning, and with graduates like John I’m now able to return to show the impact this support has had," Gemma said.
“I’m so grateful for the reception we received in Young and to know that there are so many amazing people here that open their hearts to help us continue to increase this impact.”
Impact such as the school’s graduates who’ve completed a year of community service to volunteer and teach 112,000 students at local government schools.
“We know that educating just one child can lift the whole family from poverty so this means the school has greater impact," Gemma said.
"We don’t just believe education changes lives, we actually see it happening."
From humble beginnings and a lot of hope, the school has grown to include three campuses that house a primary school and two high schools, and boarding houses for high school students to stay at during the term so they can focus on the holistic education they receive at St Jude’s.
As well as education, students play sport, learn music and art and have a range of extracurricular activities and clubs to choose from.
Ninety-seven cents in every dollar raised goes towards the operational costs of running the school.
In 2015 the school launched the Beyond St Jude’s program to support graduates in tertiary education, benefitting more than 400 young people to continue education they otherwise couldn’t afford.
These graduates are working as doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers and are running their own businesses.
“This year alone we have more than 400 scholars attending 60 different universities internationally, and our alumni are emerging as role models that are not only contributing to their country but are the leaders of the future for Tanzania,” Gemma said.
