School of St Jude
| The School of St Jude | |
|---|---|
St Jude's front gate
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| Location | |
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Arusha, Arusha Region Tanzania |
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| Coordinates | 3°22′S 36°4′E / 3.367°S 36.067°ECoordinates: 3°22′S 36°4′E / 3.367°S 36.067°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, boarding school, Non-governmental organization |
| Motto | "Fighting Poverty Through Education" |
| Denomination | Non-denominational |
| Established | 2002 |
| Employees | Over 270 local Tanzanian staff members and over 15 international volunteers |
| Key people | Gemma Sisia (founder and director) |
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Enrolment | Approx 1,800 students |
| Colour(s) | Navy, blue and yellow |
| Nickname | St Jude's |
| Website | schoolofstjude |
The School of St Jude is a charity-funded school located in the city of Arusha, in the northern Arusha Region of Tanzania.
The school, located across three campuses, provides free primary and secondary education to the poorest and brightest children of the Arusha Region. It also provides boarding for over 1000 students and employs over 270 local Tanzanian staff members.
It was founded by Australian Gemma Sisia in 2002, based on the belief that education is the best way to fight poverty.
The school was founded in 2002 by Australian Gemma Sisia, who dreamed of helping end poverty in Africa. She proved to be a talented fundraiser by engaging people and organisations such as Rotary. She named the school after St Jude; the patron saint of hopeless causes. 'My first donation was $10 and I had no building experience before moving to Africa, so the likelihood of the school actually getting off the ground was pretty hopeless! Anyway, I believed that with hard work, passion and prayer you can get through anything. I still believe that today.'
The school provides a free and high-quality education to over 1,800 girls and boys from the poorest families in the area. It is 100% charity funded and receives no government assistance from Tanzania or Australia. 90% of the school's funding is from regular Australian families who have signed up to sponsor a child or donate.
Each year the school opens its gates to select approx 150 new students who show academic promise combined with genuine and demonstrable financial need. These girls and boys are then given everything they need to be successful; from an international-standard education to safe accommodation and three nutritious meals a day.
In 2015 the school's first graduating class, Form 6, finished within the top 10% in Tanzania. Most of them completed a year of Community Service whilst applying for University, and in October 2016 were accepted into the top Universities in Tanzania. This includes 16 students who have now started studying a Doctor of Medicine or other health related degrees. This is one of the Tanzanian Government’s national priority subjects alongside Agriculture, Education, Tourism, Engineering and IT, all of which are being taken up as University degrees by The School of St Jude's 2015 graduating class.
The school's mission is to educate disadvantaged, bright students from the local Arusha district to become moral and intellectual leaders. Graduates from St Jude’s are expected to be respectful, responsible, honest and kind citizens, gainfully employed, capable of trustworthy leadership in their communities and at the national level.
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