Overcoming adversity is what St Jude’s is all about, and with the help of some dedicated individuals, senior primary student Lightness is proving that nothing can stop her from achieving her potential.

Due to cerebral palsy, Lightness is unable to use her hands, even for the most basic of tasks. Amazingly, the cheery 13-year-old has adapted to learn, eat – and even paint! - with her feet.

Lightness’ determination and the support she has received through the school network means her future is bright, despite being in a country experiencing severe poverty and a lack of services for people with disabilities.

It all began when St Jude’s sponsor and former special education teacher Noela Phillips heard of Lightness’s plight.

The Brisbane resident reached out to Brisbane High-Rise Rotary Club’s former President and CEO of Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland (CPL), Angela Tillmanns, who was about to embark on a Rotary visit to St Jude’s.

Angela understood how specialized equipment could make a huge difference to Lightness’ life, and aided the Rotary club’s donation of an iPad to help her learning.

“On meeting Lightness, and seeing her determination to be the best she could be, it was easy to get involved,” recalled Angela.

“It was amazing watching her use her hands to make things happen on the iPad that we had taken with us. It was a great way to demonstrate to Lightness what was possible with new technology.”

The Tillmann’s family, backed by the expertise of CPL, are also helping Lightness reach her dream of one day being confident enough to eat alongside her peers, as she currently has lunch with the school nurse in her office.

Lightness is trialing a specially-designed spoon which attaches to her wrist, and with lots of practice supported by the St Jude’s Community Relations team, we hope one day she may be able to feed herself.

The Tillmann’s family covered the cost of CPL occupational therapist, John Pashen, to help buy the correct equipment and make sure Lightness and her teachers had the support to use it effectively.

“John supports many people living in remote areas of Queensland via Skype and has developed good skills in assisting people with disabilities via this communication method, so we had great confidence that he would be able to help Lightness and the staff at St Jude’s,” Angela said.

Brisbane GP Dr Gordon Mor, who is part of a medical team that visits St Jude’s for annual student checkups, also delivered some additional equipment for Lightness.

“Dr Mor took a large bag of equipment over to Lightness to trial, and brought back those items that were not suitable. It is important to trial a wide range of equipment so we can get the best fit between the person and the technology,” Angela said.

Based on Mr Pashen’s advice, the Tillmanns also provided two specially-designed computer keyboards to enable Lightness to access computers at the same rate as her peers. She currently sits on a specially-built seat with her toes operating a larger-than-average keyboard. One day she hopes to master a special keyboard with a device strapped to her hands, whilst sitting in a seat beside her classmates. A Community Relations team member gives Lightness private lessons twice a week to help improve.

Dr Pashen said he found working with Lightness inspiring as she is so motivated, shows a willingness to try new technology and persevere with it.

“When we visited Lightness she proudly explained that she wanted to be an artist,” Angela said. “Her work was exceptional so she definitely has a future there. However, with her academic ability, excellent English communication skills and the right equipment and support, she could definitely be a professional such as an accountant or lawyer.”

Read more about Rotary's involvement in The School of St Jude.

Jacklyn has known for the past six years she wants a future in broadcasting and nothing is going to stop her from fulfilling her dream.

The confident senior secondary student has worked hard to make a name for herself as a presenter around town, all the while developing her radio and television skills.

“Some people work for money, others work to get a big name, but it’s always beautiful when you do something for passion,” the ambitious 20-year-old said.

“I love this and I’m ready to do anything to make it happen. When I realised that, I started training myself.”

Jacklyn’s voice bubbles with enthusiasm as she shares her ambitions during this month’s Careers Day.

Professional speakers, including an architect, a doctor, an air traffic controller and our very own accountant Victoria Thomas, share their career secrets, while Jacklyn herself is the best-credentialed on campus to give advice on broadcasting.

She gained a reputation around St Jude’s as an MC at assembly and events like Cultural Day, and by making class presentations throughout the past few years. She branched out further into the community to broaden her experience.

“When I’m at home (on holidays), I usually go to a certain radio station – Clouds’ branch in Arusha. I go there for training and make some advertisements,” she said, adding that St Jude’s senior headmaster’s younger brother, who is a DJ at Clouds FM, has become her mentor.

“DJ Ali came to school when I was MCing an event, and he said I was good and he wanted to train me and gave me his contacts. When I was on holiday, I went to the studio, I recorded my programs, and then I see where I went wrong and correct it. He gives me training and advice, so when I go to university it will be good to already have knowledge of many things.”

Jacklyn said she plans to pursue mass communications, public relations and advertising through the school of journalism at the University of Dar es Salaam.

She stressed the importance of having good broadcasting in a place like Tanzania.

“This world is very big, and there are some things that people need to know and it’s hard for them to get that information here,” she said.

“Let’s say something very important happens in America. Who will let the people know about something like that, that is important to the whole world? When you have a radio, which can be very cheap, even farmers who are working out at the farm can hear the news. Most people like to hear the news, and when you are on the radio you go on the air and let them know about that stuff. People can get information, be entertained through music… that’s what we are doing.”

She said she would eventually like to work in Tanzania, and encourages everyone to pursue their passion by keeping a certain piece of advice in mind: don’t be afraid.

“I go on stage and host or MC and be crazy and make people happy and enjoy,” she said.

“I love it.”

It was an insight into the world of medicine many of our eager senior secondary biology students had been waiting for.

Six medical specialists from the United States, with experience ranging from ophthalmology to public health, found they were equally impressed with our students’ response to their two-day visit.

“(The students) have a great awareness, and the language they use… they really seem to understand community problems,” Amena Qureshi said, following her presentation on the public health sector. “It’s been great, really interesting to see their perspectives.”

The Chicago resident said it had been an eye-opening exercise for her group to see St Jude’s students’ viewpoints. Her presentation with fellow team member Haifa Haroon required students to identify a public health problem and come up with a solution.

“They’re talking just like we would, as grad students, and know what their community needs,” she said.

It’s just as well.

St Jude’s students who decide to pursue a health profession, and other medical professionals who travel to Tanzania to lend their expertise, are sorely needed. UNICEF states that while health care in the country has improved, about 390 children under five years old still die every day of mainly preventable and treatable conditions.

While sharing their knowledge and experience with our students, this latest medical group put their skills to good use by giving free check-ups to students with vision problems. Prior to that, only days before their arrival, they summited Mt Kilimanjaro and raised $40,000 for international charity World Sight.

Team organiser and ophthalmologist Dr Arwa Alsamarae said their St Jude’s visit seemed natural to include in the whirlwind fundraising trip.

“It all just came together,” she said. “It was fun, it was incredible, and there were a lot of students who were interested in medicine.”

Dr Arwa told the class how she decided to pursue a career in her field after discovering that some people’s sight could be restored through the magic of just a 10-minute cataract procedure.

Recent graduate Akram Alsamarae shared his biomedical engineering knowledge, while Zeeshan Bhatti and Bilal Ahmed, both hailing from Kentucky, gave an overview of medicine, the areas students could specialise in, and advice on how to achieve their goals.

“Diversify, interact with your community and develop a good ‘world sense’,” Bilal, who will begin medical school next year, said. “Be a better person overall when talking to others, continue to volunteer and take on leadership roles.

“Create a passion early on so you always have something to look forward to in the back of your mind.”

The good health of our students is essential for them to make the most of their education. Right now we are looking for health professionals, allied health professionals and organized individuals who enjoy working with youth and can volunteer, short-term, for our annual student medical checks between March 7 and 18, 2016.

Have you met Victor?

You should!

Victor is a master of languages; at age 8, he is top of Standard 1 (Grade 1) in English and Kiswahili. He is also number one in computer class and science!

Science is Victor’s favorite subject and when he grows up he wants to be a pilot.

Why? “So I can go to all the places I want to go to,” he said.

‘Captain Victor’ lives in Moivaro with his father, mother and younger brother Steven.

His parents, Adrian and Beatrice, have only a primary school education; both work six days a week to provide for the family and make sure Victor gets to school and has time to study.

Victor started at St Jude’s in January this year. Now that he is receiving a free, high-quality education, the family’s dream is to save enough money to buy a small piece of land, his mother, Beatrice, said.

Victor relishes being at St Jude’s; he’s a veritable ladies’ man, in the sense that all his best friends are girls. His favourite things to do are to speak English and, “play football, the monkey game and go on the slide at lunchtime.”

If you’d like to be dazzled by Victor’s school reports, correspond with the master linguist and even hang out with him and his family in person one day, why not become a sponsor?

Find out more about sponsoring a St Jude's student.

Birthday parties, movie previews and music nights… fundraising for St Jude’s is a celebration!

Our thoughtful and generous supporters are constantly inspiring us and we hope their stories can inspire you!

Here are just a few of the fun ways our supporters are raising money for St Jude’s:

1. Rolling out the red carpet

From high school dances to movie screenings, our supporters hold all kinds of events to raise money for St Jude’s! Recently, former volunteer Amanda Summons and her friend Berlin Liew (a St Jude’s sponsor) hosted a screening of Pitch Perfect 2 - a film featuring St Jude’s very own ambassador Rebel Wilson! They raised more than $1000 and Berlin’s employers, the CSR department of Dentsu Aegis, also chipped in with $800. Talk about a Hollywood ending!

2. Sharing a birthday with St Jude’s

Helping St Jude’s can be a perfect way to celebrate a birthday – whether you are just hitting double digits or you’re turning 80! Australian primary school student Natasha raised $439 by asking friends to donate to St Jude’s for her 10th birthday. Sydney-sider Jan Payten had the same idea for her 80th birthday and raised $2000! Great minds think alike.

3. Getting the community involved

St Jude’s wouldn’t be where it is today without the support of schools and community groups. Rotary groups literally laid the school’s first bricks and to this day they play a huge role in supporting our school. So do other schools. Ten students and two teachers from the Dominican College in Wicklow in Ireland recently raised an incredible €35,000 ($AUD54,000) by holding more than 20 fundraisers in their community! Schools in Australia have got involved too. Inspired by our own Colour Their World appeal, Balgowlah North in Sydney encouraged everyone at school to dress in the colours of the rainbow… which saw a pot of gold worth $1067.90 go to St Jude’s.

4. Test your limits through a fundraiser with a difference

Get your family and friends excited by setting a fundraising challenge. You can run a marathon, do a road trip or climb Kilimanjaro! Fundraising challenges are a great way to raise money while having fun. Early next year, 18-year-old Aussie Steve Jaggard will use pedal power to generate interest in St Jude’s, by riding more than 1000km. He hopes to raise $10,000 for the estimated 20-day trip from the Adelaide Oval to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) through his event, The Light Ride. Go Steve!

Now that you’re inspired, you can hold a fundraiser for St Jude's.

The value of a quality education has not been lost on St Jude's graduate Dorice, who has been putting hers to good use in her current role as a biology teacher.

The 2015 graduate remembers spending her primary school years crammed five-to-a-desk in a class of more than 100, fighting through hunger while trying to learn.

“When I was in a government school it was hard. Sometimes the teacher was at class; sometimes she wasn’t,” Dorice said.

“We spent from morning until night without any food and we didn’t have any books.”

Driven by her dream of becoming a doctor, Dorice finished in the top 10% of her primary school and earned a scholarship at St Jude’s, where she was given everything needed to excel in her studies.

“If I wasn’t at St Jude’s I don’t think I would have finished Form 6 (Grade 12) because the conditions (at government schools) are so tough, without teachers, without books,” Dorice said.

“My parents couldn’t afford to send me to a private school.

“Because I was at St Jude’s I passed Form 4 (Grade 10) very well and Form 6 very well.”

Finishing high school is a major achievement in Tanzania. Of the 1.63 million students in Tanzanian that enrolled in their first year of school in 2002 like Dorice, less than 39,000 of them graduated from Form 6 this year. That is just 2.4%.

Next year Dorice hopes to study medicine, a profession desperately needed in a country that has one of the worst doctor shortages in the world (1 physician per 100,000 people).

“Here in Tanzania there are very few doctors,” she said. “I want to be a gynecologist because there are very few and there are lots of women’s diseases that are not addressed.”

Before Dorice embarks on her tertiary education she is completing her Community Service Year at the high school just around the corner from her childhood home.

Returning to a government school has made her even more aware of the need for a quality education like the one she received at St Jude’s.

“When I was in Form 1 (at St Jude’s) we were only 27 students (in a class) but (at the government school) there are 57,” Dorice said.

“They have no teachers. I remember the first day I came they had no biology teacher here. From January to July the Form 1s had no biology teacher.

“I started an introduction to biology.

“They really loved me because I was telling them what to do, advising them how to study, how to revise. I’m using what I learnt at St Jude’s to help them.”

Dorice has been selected as the first ever St Jude’s graduate to tour Australia with Gemma next March and April. Contact our organiser to book her for any conferences or major events.