Fighting Poverty through Education.

FIGHTING POVERTY THROUGH EDUCATION

A most informative and inspiring evening was held on March 18^th 2025.

Gemma Sisia spoke to a combined clubs’ meeting hosted by Belrose Rotary and held at Forestville RSL. Members and guests from 5 other Rotary clubs attended.

 

 

Pres Diana Hart (left) and Gemma Sisia

In 2002, Gemma opened the School of St Jude in Tanzania on a gifted piece of two acres of land. The school started with a mission to provide free, quality education to high-performing students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Northern Tanzania.

Today St Jude’s includes three schools, 1,800 students on full scholarships, almost 350 staff and a groundbreaking tertiary program with over 300 tertiary graduates.

 

Her presentation went through the years of building the school, its excellent academic record, prioritising nutrition with daily meals and clean water, optimising health checks with international volunteers, boarding facilities for three-quarters of students, equal opportunities with a girls-only school and being a forerunner in community service and tertiary academic programs.

Many students give back to the community with a community service year  (CSY) and work in many crowded classrooms in the country. The CSY program has placed 800 volunteer teachers in government schools and taught over 100,00 students since inception.

TURTLES:

Gemma gave an interesting analogy to turtles being born, then disappearing off the beach where they are born for many years before finally showing up back as mature adults on that beach was made. Gemma explained that she now encounters St Jude graduates in many professions, industries and walks of life. Over 350 St Jude's alumni have already graduated in tertiary instututions.

 

RIPPLES:

Just like ripples in a pond flow out from the point where the stone entered the water, the effects and spread across the full expanse. Now, alumni entering the workforce in a diversified range of fields from business, teaching and law to engineering, medicine and agriculture.

80% of St Jude's graduates' families overcome extreme poverty. 

Everyone attending fully enjoyed a most thought provoking presentation.