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The School of St . Jude. Fighting Poverty through Education. Educating the Future Leaders of Tanzania. GEMMA’S STORY. A young Australian woman, Gemma Sisia (now Rice), arrived in Uganda in her early 20s as a volunteer teacher for impoverished students.
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The School of St. Jude Fighting Poverty through Education Educating the Future Leaders of Tanzania
A young Australian woman, Gemma Sisia (now Rice), arrived in Uganda in her early 20s as a volunteer teacher for impoverished students
Although rewarding, Gemma wanted to reach and educate more children and take an active stance against the poverty affecting so many of Africa’s youth
On her trip to Tanzania, Gemma met and fell in love with Richard! The couple married, and… School of St Jude Moshono, Tanzania …the 1st piece of land for the school was given to them by Richard’s father. Another 10 small plots later, and the School of St. Jude provides an education to hundreds of impoverished children.
Gemma’s commitment to the School of St Jude is long-term. Her devotion to the now 1000 students, 300 staff, her husband and her 3 own children is total. This is her home, her family and her life.
In 2001, the first of many Rotary volunteer teams arrived to work with local laborers and lay the school’s foundations
Their hardwork has seen the school grow rapidly from a field… …to the first bricks
…to two complete primary and boarding schools, granting a free education to approximately 1000 gifted, yet underprivileged children. Moshono Primary opened 2002 Usa River Primary-opened 2008
Five Years ago, these children had little hope for a bright future!
But thanks to thousands of donations from average income earners around the world, they can now go to school in good classrooms…
But most importantly, thanks to the great team effort of people all around the world we have been able to grow from a small classroom of one teacher and three students in 2002…
…to two schools comprising over 50 classrooms, 300 staff, and approx 1200 students six years later
We also have basic accommodation for visiting sponsors and donors.
Each Friday afternoon, around 3000 children arrive at the school hoping to get a sponsorship to come to The School of St Jude
Those who pass the entrance test are then assessed for poverty. School representatives drive to each child’s home to check the family background and assess the level of poverty.
By the time the total process is finished , less than 1% of applicants are successful each week.You can imagine the glee of parents when they see their child in the St Jude’s uniform for the 1st time!
Newly enrolled students are then sponsored by someone around the world and given everything they need from uniforms, meals and weekly accommodation to books, excursions and transport
…and finally thanks to the high standard of education, the students from The School of St Jude consistently achieve an average of 90% each year in the Tanzanian National Examinations
Our students are taught in English by Tanzanian teachers …and a large proportion of these teachers have been Deputy Principals or Heads of local schools before they joined St Jude’s
We give lots of professional training to our teachers because they are the backbone of of our school
And we also train them to encourage critical thinking and independent thought in our students
It is their job to create a generation of lateral thinking, well rounded, culturally conscious and ethical future leaders of Tanzania.
The School of St Jude survives on financial support. There is no government assistance.Without our dedicated staff and donations from people like you, these intelligent and personable children would be condemned to a life of poverty. Now they have a chance to lead fulfilled lives and create a nation of wise decision makers.
Donations help with further expansion of the school. Every year at least another 150 students enroll in the school and so the school permanently employs a team of builders to constantly build more classrooms. In 2007 the school spent several million dollars on the construction of a second school and 12 boarding houses.
Donations of any amount are welcome and they help to cover everything from another cooker for one of the school kitchens
...to helping finance the drilling of water so our hundreds of boarders can shower and wash their clothes We will always let you know, with pictures, what your donation was spent on.
Educational • Sponsorship Packages!! • For $110AUD per month • ½ Student + Teacher • ½ Student + Bus
Just imagine what we will look like in another 5 years with your help!
Thank you and we look forward to you joining our team!! www.schoolofstjude.co.tz
