Cultural Commitment / School of St Jude

Join me in a cultural challenge – for the next month or three I’m going to commit to going to at least one event suggested by The Fetch a week.

My first – a lecture at Melbourne University on Poverty (‘Fighting poverty through education’) which will be particularly relevant to the Cannes Chimera Workshop I will be attending next week in Seattle.

School of St Jude

Lessons on how to run a successful business in Tanzania

Last night I attended a truly inspiring lecture ‘Fighting Poverty Through Education’ at the University of Melbourne.

The lecture was delivered by Gemma Sisia, who founded the school of St Jude’s about 15 years ago. The school is unique for many reasons, but their mission gives you a sense of what they are trying to do.

‘The mission of The School of St Jude is to educate disadvantaged, bright students from the Arusha district to become moral and intellectual leaders. The school’s ultimate goal is (c)Fighting Poverty Through Education, thereby demonstrating educational leadership in Tanzania.’

Some facts:
· In Tanzania only about 5% of school starters make it to secondary school. They are actively weeded out through an onerous program of exams and school assessments.
· There is a shortage of 47,000 teachers in Tanzania.

What’s remarkable about St Jude’s?
· St Jude’s is ranked the number one school in their region for academic performance. They are breaking the cycle of poverty by taking the kids with the least, and giving them a shot through education.
· Through the growth and running of the school they have created an ongoing infrastructure, employing local Tanzanians into jobs ranging from bus drivers to cooks, to gardeners, school uniform manufacturers, and of course teachers.
· The school welcomes students from all religions and tribes.
· Graduates of the school are contracted to pay back their privilege by doing a year’s community service in government schools as math and science mentors.
· St Jude’s actively fosters a parent committee program – this helps them in both their recruitment of kids, discipline, and also ensuring parents live up to their contracts.
· That’s right parents have to sign a contract to say they will support their child through 14 years of education, will never send their child to school ill, and will generally back their kid.
· The school, which costs $6M a year to run, is 100% privately funded by donations and Rotary sponsors.

When asked about what motivated her to keep going with this project, Gemma’s response was incredible. She said that in the first few years she was motivated by the challenge of the whole project. However, this motivation has now shifted to a sense of responsibility; for both the kids and their families, of whom the school’s very existence is dependent on.

The real tear-jerker came when she was asked about how she’ll knew when the project, which is really more of a way of life, has returned a positive ROI. Gemma’s response was, “I’ve had all four of my kids in Tanzanian public hospitals, and trust me they need doctors, nurses and gynaecologists. It’s my dream that by the time my kids have kids themselves, the person tending to them in that hospital is a graduate of St Judes.”