R O T A R Y      C L U B     O F     P R A H R A N

The School of St Jude, founded in Tanzania by Australian Gemma Sisia, is now fulfilling its aim of "Fighting Poverty through Education". This dream, funded mainly by Australian Rotary Clubs, is some seven years old, and the students from the very poorest of backgrounds now number over 900. The secondary school has opened and is taking its first classes. The boarding house is now open so that children from far out areas can stay from Monday to Friday. The challenge for Rotary is to stay involved and keep the dream alive. This is not a flash in the pan effort, but one which requires on-going committment to achieve its goal. The school still needs sponsors and also welcomes those with the necessary skills to act as volunteers. Many of the volunteers have had teaching experience, some have bookkeeping and IT skills and some are students in their gap year. Their length of stay varies from a few weeks to one or two years. There are also many local salaried teachers, for whom sponsorship is sought. Gemma's energy, drive and dedication is astounding, as is that of the staff and volunteers. We have no doubt that goods and funds donated are carefully spent and overheads are kept to a minimum.