Tanzanian school 'fights poverty with education'

SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — The idea started with three students and $10.

“One of my schoolmates gave me my first donation, which was $10. “I took his money to the bank and opened his bank account with $10,” said Gemma Sisia.

Gemma Sisia started in 2002 St Jude’s School in Tanzania. His decision to do this came after he realized the need for quality education for children living in extreme poverty.

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“I thought, wouldn’t it be great to have a quality private school that doesn’t charge tuition, so my parents wouldn’t have to struggle to pay school fees like my parents did?” Sisia said.

Now, 20 years later, St Jude School educates 1,800 grade-level students each year and supports 400 university-level students facing extreme poverty in Tanzania. Those who want to participate must apply for a scholarship, come from a public school and complete a series of entrance exams. Students also need to take a ‘poverty test’.

“If they have electricity, they may be considered too rich for the program. If they have more than two rooms, they may be considered too rich for the program,” Sisia said.

Once a child is accepted to St Jude School the search for sponsors begins.

“Students apply for scholarships, but like scholarships all over the world, someone has to be behind the scholarship to pay for it. “We have thousands of sponsors who fund scholarships around the world,” Sisia said.

Many of these sponsors include Rotarians in South Dakota and across the United States, each of whom supports students like Solomon Muhammad throughout their education.

“It’s not like these sponsors don’t have other things to put their money into. But it means a lot that they prioritize and think about someone far away who is less fortunate than them,” Mohammed said.

Mohammed is a 2015 graduate and is currently living his childhood dream as a doctor at Tanzania’s largest hospital. He started his journey at the school in 2009 when he was invited to apply for a scholarship. After completing his studies at one of Tanzania’s top medical schools, Mohammed became one of the school’s first doctors, along with six other St Jude graduates.

“I don’t think I would be where I am today or in the career I’m in now. If I somehow make a career out of myself, it will be a very difficult path. But St Jude School made it very easy, very real and very doable for me to go into medicine and dream of doing something in medicine,” said Mohammed.

Mohammed currently works as a general practitioner.

It is one thing to hear about the success of your students in their professional careers, but it is another to see them.

“I recently broke my arm and had to go to the doctor, so he sent me to the radiologist to get x-rays and stuff. He’s a radiologist, one of my graduates,” Sisia said. “A few weeks ago, we had to get an MRI for my daughter and we had to go to a big hospital in the city . One of my graduates works in the MRI department, so it’s great that I’m starting to encounter them professionally.”

That’s why Sisia continues to share the influence of sponsors. You can find out more about sponsoring a student at The School of St Jude Here.

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