Bustling building site at Usa River

The latest newsletter from St Jude's shows the progress on the the Usa River site where a second school is being built.

When Gemma started the school in 2002 with 3 students, she had only one building that was started by a group of Australian Rotary volunteers. This year, she has two major building projects. The new school at Usa River is employing hundreds of local workers. There are 700 people on the payroll. This intense effort will mean that the whole school (classrooms, offices, hall, kitchen and boarding accommodation) will be ready for students in January 2008.

Here's the progress.

May 2007 – laying the foundations

Kim measures the admin storeroom

July 2007 – primary boys boarding house

July 2007 – classrooms going up

July 2007 – Classroom walls

Main structure of the school takes shape

The electrician and plumber supervise works

Amani (left) the electrican, who has been with the school since it started with 3 kids back in 2002. He is standing with the plumber, Robertson. Both are taking a moment to watch a concrete pour taking place. Their jobs are going to triple over the coming year and so will both have to take on more apprentices, etc.

The School of St Jude provides a good education for bright children from the poorest families. It also provides work and opportunity for local teachers, builders, cooks, drivers, mechanics and all the trades involved in building and running substantial education facilities. None of this would be happening without the passionate commitment of Gemma. And, of course, it depends entirely on your interest and generosity.

Usa River building progress

On the main road from Arusha through Usa River, this sign has sprouted to announce the arrival of the new campus of the School of St Jude. Ah, I see that they drive on the left in Tanzania. That makes it easy for Aussies!




This is the entrance to the school. With those bright yellow walls, it will be hard to miss!




Here is a view of the foundations being laid for school buildings that will be open for business in January 2008. Over 150 local men and women are getting employment even at this early stage of building. Lots of families are happy that the school is going up in their area.

Usa River foundations

No large concrete trucks here – it's all mixed on site and carried in buckets.


This is where your money is going. You are building a new school.

Perhaps it will last for hundreds of years. Schools generally do. They get added to and renovated. Their old students come back and reminisce about their friends and teachers. The next generation arrives and a new layer of memories are laid down.

Building the future. Right now.




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Always the builders!

When a school is growing by 150 children a year, teaching is carried out against the constant background of building and renovation. This is the new classroom block at the School of St Jude in December 2006. By 12 January, it was open for business!



During the Christmas holidays, the builders can REALLY get to work unencumbered by the presence of children. One important renovation during the recent holidays was the office expansion. The admin area seems to double each year. Kim says

It’s hard to believe that we expanded last Christmas and already have outgrown the space. In a week or so I hope I won’t be shuffling sideways past desks to get to mine while apologising to Lulua for knocking her off her chair.

I laugh when people ask if I’m enjoying the holidays – HOLIDAYS!? Along with the builders, we in admin work harder when the school is ‘closed’! So much to do to prepare for the next term and normally I’d say at least it’s a bit quieter but at the moment we are coping with the demolition derby next door and all the dust and rubble that it brings. Still, it will be worth it in the end … Lulua will certainly think so.

Office renovations

African style building has some colourful results. Thnext photo shows the site behind the office which has been the dumping ground for broken branches, unearthed tree stumps and homeless logs from all around.

Not a chainsaw

The photo was taken four weeks after the work started so it doesn’t show the true size of the massive deadwood forest that was there originally. Although the cooks would come and grab armfuls of the smaller stuff for the kitchen, the pile just kept growing like the magic packet of TimTams.

During Operation Cleanup, Gemma found a wily old local bloke who offered to chop the lot and clearly it was going to take a chainsaw, so Gemma gave him money to hire the machine in town. Instead, he hired two of his mates for a lot less! Although they are less noisy, it has taken a lot longer. The beautiful smell of seasoned wood wafting through office window tells Kim and other office workers that it’s not a tennis court despite all the hacking and grunting!

Builders, always the builders

Here we are, just days before Christmas. Australian school children have started their long summer holidays and Sydney traffic is easing.

The School of St Jude is on holiday too. Well, the kids are on holiday, but the builders, a constant presence on the site, are still hard at it.

The new secondary building at Moshono

This holiday, the builders are busy at work on both campuses – Moshono and Usa River. At Moshono, this beauty is under construction. It will have ten classrooms, two seminar rooms, two computer labs, staff rooms, offices and an amenities block!

Plans for the secondary building

This will be ready for use by 9 January 2007 when the new school year starts. In the longer term, this building will be for secondary students at the Moshono campus. But that won’t happen till 2009 when the Usa River campus is ready to accommodate three streams of each primary class.

A lot of planning, a lot of sheer hard work. An a lot of caring support from thousands around the world are bringing this school into existence.

As you share your Christmas festivities with loved ones, you can remember that the School of St Jude is one example of goodness and generosity in this world. Something to be grateful for.