Today, students convened in the Br Emilian Hall for a talk by founder of the School of St Jude in Tanzania, Ms Gemma Sisia.
Gemma grew up on a wool sheep property near Guyra and is one of eight children. Gemma attended St Vincent’s College, Potts Point, while her seven brothers attended Joeys. After completing university, Gemma devoted time to helping the poor in Africa. This experience led to a belief that a free, high-quality education should be the right of all children in the world, and that education is the strongest weapon in the fight against poverty. She returned home and began fundraising. In 2002, Gemma left her creature comforts behind and set about building The School of St Jude, to help the poorest of the poor receive a good quality education.
Twenty-three years on, her accomplishments cannot be understated. St Jude’s now educates 2,000 students over three campuses. In 2018, the school celebrated the first tertiary graduates and in 2021, the first seven doctors graduated, completing university with the support of the Beyond St Jude program. Since 2018 over 300 St Jude’s alumni have graduated from tertiary studies and are now working as doctors, engineers, tradespeople, entrepreneurs and teachers.
Gemma was greeted by members of the Joeys community who recently attended an immersion to Tanzania.
