Where are they from?

Sponsors of the School of St Jude live in 23 different countries. Most of them are in Australia as the following list shows.

Australia -- 1331
England -- 36
Ireland -- 31
USA -- 31
New Zealand -- 30
Canada -- 14
Northern Ireland -- 9
Tanzania -- 5
Italy -- 5
UAE -- 3
Netherlands -- 2
Singapore -- 2
Germany -- 2
These countries are home to one sponsor -- Japan, PNG, Sth Africa, India, Austria, Scotland, Senegal, Denmark, Dominican Republic, France.

How is that for networking?

These sponsors fund the everyday expenses of the school. New buildings and other development is funded through donations.

Sponsor a teacher

Our family sponsors two teachers at St Jude’s, and it happened that both of them were mentioned in the latest school newsletter!

Mr Sebastian Gitbang

Mr Sebastian is the Head of the Social Studies Department but next year he will become the Academic Master at Usa River. In this role he will be in charge of all the heads of academic departments and teachers at that campus. Currently he is receiving wise counsel from Nestory Msoffe the Academic Master at Moshono in preparation for the new challenges he will take on next year.

Miss Genofeva and the Hoey family

Miss Genofeva teaches Kindergarten and Year 1. Here she is with some students and the Hoey family who also sponsor her. You can find out a bit more about her here on my blog.

When you sponsor a teacher at St Jude’s your donation helps to provide teaching resources. Teachers also know that someone on the other side of the world is interested in what they do. We are nourished by the interest of others. What are you interested in today? What are you nourishing with your interest?

Classrooms – learning on the job

Over the years of building classrooms in Tanzania, a developing country, the building materials and the builders’ skills have improved. The paint lasts longer, the floors survive thousands more foot steps, the render on the walls can cope with posters and charts and the blackboards remain black!



At first, the School shipped donated desks and chairs from Australia, but now all furniture is made locally. This way the School can ensure the furniture is the right height for the students and they are creating huge job opportunities for people in the local village and, therefore, the ripple effect is enormous.



The School also believes that staff and students will enjoy coming to school and will want to work hard and with pride for their school and themselves if they have harmonious surroundings. For this reason the School has gone to a lot of trouble to plant trees and grow gardens and lawns around the classrooms. Of course, it’s not all aesthetic - the greenery keeps down the dust and holds off the heat … to a certain extent!

By sponsoring classrooms at the School of St Jude, you are helping to pay for the bricks, cement, steel, wood, paint, render, corrugated iron sheets, building tools and fundis (bricklayers, carpenters, steel workers, builders, painters, cleaners, etc) wages. There is a maximum of 10 sponsors for each classroom – there are many people involved in building a classroom!

So, you can see how valuable your contribution is to the development of the school. When you give to the School of St Jude, you are joining a global team of wonderful people who realise that the fight against poverty starts with education. You can stay in touch with the School by newsletters, the School website and this blog – and feel the immensity of your contribution to many lives.


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Challenges for 2007

The main challenge for the School in 2007 is the building program at the new campus. To be ready for students at the beginning of 2008, the new campus needs buildings (classrooms, administration and work rooms), furniture, computers, library, hall and kitchen, toilets, water, electricity and all the basics for a new school.

Work begins on Usa River site

Three reasons to support the School of St Jude

1. All funds go directly to the school and are used for running the school.
2. Hands-on management of the school by the very capable Gemma Sisia. — "Lunch for 2,400? No worries!"
   
3. The school meets the very real needs of bright children from poor families in an impoverished country where education often means classes of 40-60 children who share a handful of books.

Supporter Programs
The school accepts general donations of any size and also offers a number of Supporter Programs.

• FULL sponsorship of a student's annual fees AUD$1,100.00 p.a.
• HALF sponsorship of a student's annual fees AUD$550.00 p.a.
• Sponsor a classroom AUD$500.00 p.a.
• Sponsor a school bus AUD$500.00 p.a.
• Sponsor a teacher AUD$500.00 p.a.
• Sponsor Internet for a Class AUD$500.00 p.a.
• Sponsor 30 square metres land purchase US$100

Special project sponsorship
If you have an idea for a special project you would like to sponsor, please contact the school with your thoughts.

Check out the school website (link in sidebar) for more information about the school. Come aboard! Make a difference!