26-02-2008
Michelle Fahy (left) is thanked by Keith Weber for her presentation
Michelle Fahy came to talk to the Club about the School of St Jude. The story revolves around Gemma Rice who went to Africa to be a nun, but fell in love with and married Richard Sisia over there. The scheme to establish and support the School was done in conjunction with Rotary. Michelle is a friend of the School, for which she has developed a passion. She is a plain English financial writer, so she can work from anywhere in the world. Some of the points from Michelle's presentation are found below.
- Thanks for having me - I'm very happy to be here.
- I found out about the School mid last year when listening to a radio program with Margaret Throsby.
- Last year a DVD on the School, The Story So Far, came out with the Rotary Down Under.
- The School is located in Arusha, Tanzania, and was started on a block of land donated by Gemma's father-in-law.
- The Rotary Club of Guyra sent the first crew to build the school.
- Rotary sent 10,000 books to start the library.
- A lot of used computers were donated, checked, and sent to the School, and now computer classes are held.
- During September to December, over 800 children come to the school every Friday for sponsorship interviews. Through assessment of the child's school record so far, and the circumstances of the family, 4 children are selected from the 800+ candidates. The intention is to support the brightest kids from the poorest families, but only 1 child is selected from each family.
- High schools teach in English, but not every primary school teaches English. So some students finish primary school but can't get into high school.
- The School has about 1,000 students at the moment.
- A secondary school has now been built so the students can continue on.
- National exams - the Standard 4 - are held in grade 4. If students don't pass, they are not allowed to return to school.
- New students at St Judes are on probation for 4 months before they are finally accepted and receive their uniform.
- Esuvat Ojungu, a student, was sponsored by a Rotary club. She placed first out of 17,581 students in the Standard 4 exams. And in 2005, 5 out of the top 10 students in the Standard 4 were from St Judes. In 2007, all of the 150 St Judes students who sat the Standard 4 passed, with 78% of them achieving 100% in at least one subject.
- In 2007, the School had 60 teachers, with a staff total of 150.
- A hot meal is provided to the students every day.
- Between food, building, maintenance, and salaries, the School does a lot for the local economy.
- The students are all bussed in - more buses are needed - but the School is opening boarding homes for some distant students. St Judes buys beat up old buses and does them up to maximise the number of buses bought with the money donated. Over $8,000 per month is spent on diesel and maintenance for the buses.
- The students learn about their Masai culture as part of their studies.
- 90% of the students receive free education, uniforms, and meals.
- The current need for the School is for a passionate teacher/librarian, and a good handyman to oversee the 3 sites.
- Every year the School runs a tour, so donors can see the School, go on a safari, and see Zanzibar.
- Sponsorship packages are:
- $1,000 for 12 months sponsorship of a student and a bus, a student and a teacher, or a student and a classroom.
- $500 for a teacher, a classroom, or a bus.
- $550 for half-sponsorship of a student.
- $1100 for a student sponsorship.
- Donors get a letter and photos from the school, and the students write to the donors too.
- The School employs 1 to 12 builders to make furniture for the School.
- St Judes likes to encourage students to pass on what learning they can to their siblings.
- Some of the teachers come from overseas, but all of the teachers get training to get to the standard required.
- Donations can be processed through the website (http://www.schoolofstjude.co.tz) or though RAWCS. Either way, donations are tax-deductible.
Last changed: 03:21:29 04-10-2008