There’s one thing Ezekiel wants to do when he finishes university and gets the job of his dreams. “I’m going to buy my parents a house,” the smiley 15-year-old says.
And, boy, do they deserve it. Ezekiel’s parents, Jenifer and Michael, are unskilled workers in one of the world's poorest countries, spending everything they have to provide their five children with an education.
"Education is the only way my children can have a future," says Jenifer, who dropped out of school after only two years.
"If they don't get an education they will end up like us, without any opportunities."
Unfortunately, Jenifer and Michael's dream of seeing all their children graduate is impossible without help.
In Tanzania, even public schools charge for secondary education and Jenifer and Michael are already putting three of their children through high school.
"We don't have the money to send our youngest children (Ezekiel and Jacob, 12) all the way through high school," Jenifer says.
St Jude's is helping the family by giving Ezekiel a free, high-quality education so he can escape the cycle of poverty and become a leader in his community.
Ezekiel showed he had the determination and academic talent to thrive at St Jude's when he emerged as one of the top students at a severely under-resourced government primary school.
The first-year high school student has already impressed at St Jude's, receiving A's in English, maths, art, commerce and bookkeeping.
"My parents have sacrificed so much to make sure we could go to school," says Ezekiel, who helps his family by selling plastic bags at local markets on weekends.
"They've taught us that we have to make the most of this opportunity so we can have a better life."
With the support of St Jude's he will be given an education that consistently ranks in the top 10% in Tanzania and will be supported as he goes through university.
"I want to use my education to help other people who are in poverty," he says.
"In Tanzania, we need education. It's the only way we can develop as a country."
Hand-in-hand, St Jude’s and Shanga are bringing hope to Tanzania’s future.
The two organisations share a vision for a better Tanzania, with Shanga providing supportive jobs to people with disabilities and St Jude’s giving under-privileged students a free, high-quality education.
“The partnership between Shanga and St Jude’s has developed through mutual respect of each other’s work,” Shanga General Manager Amy Tew said.
“For a long time, Shanga has welcomed visitors from St Jude’s and greatly admired the work they are doing to give opportunities to people who are disadvantaged. By working with disabled people, or by educating those who cannot afford school, we are both striving to help people achieve independence and be in control of their lives without relying on handouts.”
One such person is Amani (pictured), whose life has been improved immensely by opportunities from this partnership.
Amani was born with brittle bone disease and was unable to complete primary school as he was in and out of hospital throughout his young life. He fortunately had the opportunity to study tailoring at a vocational training school, and was employed at Shanga in early 2013.
“Amani is very creative and enjoys the designing aspect of his work,” Amy said, adding that his role focuses on making jewellery using different types of beads.
“I really like working at Shanga, especially working with other people who have disabilities,” he said.
“Working at Shanga has helped me overcome lots of challenges in my life and makes me very happy.”
Amani dreams of creating his own business to employ disabled people, and is planning to buy land this year to start working towards his dream.
It is part of St Jude’s philosophy to help our students, and other organisations and individuals in our community, work towards solutions to overcome the problems facing Tanzania.
Since its establishment in 2002, St Jude’s has become a pioneering leader in East African charitable education, providing a free education to the most impoverished bright students in Arusha, Tanzania.
Founder Gemma Sisia makes it a priority to help and partner with other organisations who share the same goals of helping disadvantaged people in Tanzania.
The Shanga Kanga necklace is the perfect symbol of this partnership towards change for a better future.
Shanga has sold the special necklace, which uses the St Jude’s Motif Kanga (designed by St Jude’s students and supplied by the school), ever since a school volunteer requested one.
“The necklaces have been a big success and one of the most popular designs of all the Shanga Kanga necklaces,” Amy said.
“We believe that partnership is important to the community because it enables people to share resources, knowledge and connections to achieve greater results with more cost efficiently. We are proud to partner with St Jude’s and know that is has helped to bring awareness and funds to the very special cause of St Jude’s as well as ensuring jobs are secure at Shanga for people who have nowhere else to go.”
The St Jude’s Kanga Shanga Necklace, a perfect gift for Christmas, can be ordered online for $18 each, on Shanga's website. Shanga donates $5 towards educating students at St Jude’s for every necklace purchased.
"I need to succeed with my education so I can fight poverty and my family can live a sustainable life," says Lopoi, a 20-year-old student from the Maasai region of Monduli, one hour outside Arusha.
Lopoi is the third oldest of 19 siblings in a family that is trapped in poverty. Neither of his parents went to school and they have spent almost everything they own trying to give their children an education.
"I wish all our children could go to school but we don't have the money," says Lopoi's father Kuresoi, who has 14 children under the age of 18.
"Before we had children we had 70 cows; now we only have 15. We sell cows to put (our children) in school, but we can't sell them all or we will have nothing."
Lopoi is a gifted scholar dedicated to becoming a doctor and helping his family.
"I studied at a government school where I was in a class with 100 students," he says. "In government schools we face problems like a shortage of books and not enough teachers. If we got one book we shared it with at least 20 students.
"We had one chemistry teacher in the entire school, and this was a problem. But the people who wanted it enough would follow the teacher, even during the night, to ask something. It depends on your effort.”
Lopoi passed Form 4 (Grade 10) with a distinction and was rewarded for his dedication with a scholarship to St Jude's, where he will receive an education that consistently ranks in the top 10% in Tanzania. He will also be supported through tertiary education so he can fulfil his dream of becoming a doctor.
"I am so happy today because I have been thinking about this for a long time," Lopoi said after hearing the news. "It will change my family positively. When I get my successful education I can come back to my family. I can help them and not only the family, the society around me."
"We will not sleep tonight," Ngipoyoni said after hearing her son had been accepted into St Jude's. "This is a day of celebration. My son will now get an education."
"Education is empowerment," says Tumaini, a single mother raising two children in a cramped single-room house in one of Arusha's poorest suburbs.
"With an education you can get a job anywhere. You can do anything."
For many Tanzanians, education is out of reach. The average Tanzanian spends just 5.11 years at school and only 35% of secondary school age students are studying.
“I was only able to go to Standard 7 (the final year of primary school) because my family didn’t have the money to send me to high school,” Tumaini says.
"That's the way it is for a lot of people. I want it to be different for my children.
"If you are educated you can be more independent, more confident.”
Tumaini supports her two children by making AUD$2 per day selling mandazi (a fried bun, popular in East Africa) on the streets of Arusha. Even with the AUD$25 she receives each month from the company that employs her abusive ex-husband, Tumaini will not have enough money to send either of her children to high school.
St Jude's is helping by giving her oldest daughter, Upendo, a free, high-quality education. At St Jude's Upendo will be given everything she needs to go to university and become a teacher.
"My favourite thing is to read books," says Upendo, who started Standard 1 in 2015. "At my old school we didn't have any books. We had 50 people in a class and we never got food. At St Jude's, every student has a desk and we're fed every day - and the library is full of books."
"She's so much happier now she's at St Jude's," Tumaini says, looking at her smiling daughter. "She's so happy when she comes home and tells me what she is learning. She's so excited every day."
Upendo isn't the only one benefiting from St Jude's. “My neighbours all tell me how different I look,” Tumaini says. “They say I’m smiling and I’m looking beautiful.
"I tell them it’s because of St Jude’s.”
Bright-eyed seven-year-old Emanuel is a man of the people, as popular on the playgrounds of St Jude's as he is among the adults in the school's office.
"Everyone knows Emanuel because he comes into the office every day just to say hello and ask us how we are," says St Jude's Community Service team member Philomena.
The charismatic seven-year-old lives in one of Arusha's busiest slums. His family home is a single room he shares with his parents and two siblings.
Their tiny home is surrounded by seven others, all full to the brim with families. There's never a private moment, but Emanuel embraces the company.
“Emanuel is always helping out,” says his mother Miriam.
“He is always reading with his brother (Meshaki, 4) and sister (Janeth, 2) and he helps the neighbour kids with their English.”
Miriam and her husband Nemence want to provide a better life for their children but they will be unable to put all three school because they are stuck in casual, unskilled work that pays less than AUD$25 per week.
“Because I don’t have an education I can’t get a job that pays any money,” says Nemence, who, like his wife, did not attend high school. “There are a lot of people in this situation (unskilled workers) in Arusha and there is not much work.”
Children in Emanuel's situation have very little chance of graduating in Tanzania, where the average person has only 5.11 years schooling and only 35% of secondary school-aged children are studying.
St Jude’s is helping by providing the poorest families, like Emanuel’s, a free high-quality education. Currently in Standard 1 (Grade 1), he will be given everything he needs to succeed at a school that has consistently ranked in the top 10% nationally.
“I want to become a doctor,” says Emanuel, who was ranked number one in his class in Swahili and Science. This dream would be impossible without St Jude's.
“Going to St Jude's means he can be whatever he wants to be,” says Nemence. “If he wants to become a doctor, he can become a doctor. If he wants to become a teacher, he can become a teacher. Because he has an education, he can get a job and he can help make life better for his brother and sister.”
Our very own stylish ambassador, Rebel Wilson, proved what a champion she is when she recently conquered a charity challenge on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Not only did Rebel take Ellen’s Fashionable Charity Challenge in her high-heeled stride, she did it to win USD$10,000 for our school.
Rebel appeared on the hugely popular show to talk about her new fashion line, Rebel Wilson for Torrid, and to confirm her role in Pitch Perfect 3. We’re so fortunate and excited she also had the time to think of us!
We are so grateful to Rebel, Ellen and Shutterfly for this wonderful donation!
Join Rebel and Ellen in fighting poverty through education by donating to our school.
American Supporters – click here to make a tax deductible donation
