When you support St Jude鈥檚, you aren鈥檛 just providing free education to the poorest and brightest students in Arusha. You鈥檙e supporting almost 300 talented, dedicated staff members committed to fighting poverty in their community. In our Staff Spotlight series you get the chance to meet these impressive members of the St Jude鈥檚 family.
Meet Sebastian 鈥� the young Aussie Rotaractor who has been busy building Interact and Rotaract clubs within St Jude鈥檚. He even started our EarlyAct club 鈥� the very first in East Africa!
Known as 鈥楽eb鈥�, he had his first taste of Rotary in primary school.
鈥淚 am from Canberra and when I was young I would go and watch the Rotary bicycle ride every year. I did not know much about Rotary other than that they were the bike ride organisers!鈥�
It was on a visit to our school in 2009 that Seb learnt more about Rotary, and its influence around the world.聽
The connection between St Jude鈥檚 and Rotary is impossible to miss. The world famous Rotary wheel is painted at the front entrance of each of our campuses and the story of how Rotary helped us build St Jude鈥檚 is told every time we recite the school鈥檚 history.
Encouraged by family and the experience he had at St Jude鈥檚, Seb joined Rotary鈥檚 youth organisation, Rotaract, in 2014.
鈥淚 joined (Rotaract) as I like the networking aspect of Rotary,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ow you can meet a different group of people than your normal social circle.鈥�
Two years later, 22-year-old Seb returned to St Jude鈥檚 to bring Rotary鈥檚 connection full circle.
He is now the Rotary Coordinator, building EarlyAct, Interact and Rotaract clubs within St Jude鈥檚.
鈥淚t has certainly been a lot of work to get our school clubs off the ground,鈥� Seb said. 鈥淗owever, it has been so rewarding. Many of the students have been so enthusiastic and shown commitment to their club from the start. The school staff have been very supportive and have helped run EarlyAct sessions on Monday afternoons.鈥�
Rotary鈥檚 motto this year is 鈥榮erving humanity鈥� and how it is the people that spark the life of an organisation.聽
鈥淣oreen, in Grade 6, is now famous among the Rotary in Arusha,鈥� Seb said. 鈥淪he is only 11 or 12 years old, but she had the confidence to make a speech to the Rotarians of Mount Meru when our EarlyActers visited the club.
鈥淭he Rotarians鈥� feedback was very positive; they loved how she presented herself with maturity beyond her years and spoke with poise and flair. 鈥楪ood evening everybody. It is so good to be with all you wonderful people. But let鈥檚 get to the point!鈥� Everybody laughed at her opening remarks!鈥�
Noreen is a clear example of the importance of EarlyAct and Interact for our students. EarlyAct is aimed at primary school students, while Interact was set-up to interest high school students in Rotary. They present a fantastic opportunity for students to develop a community service mindset at a young age.
鈥淭he community projects that the students do in Rotary teach them so many skills,鈥� Seb said. 鈥淭hey have to decide, lead and manage these projects and can use these skills in the future.鈥�
Working at St Jude鈥檚 can be a very rewarding experience 鈥� just ask Seb! Various roles in the St Jude鈥檚 team are now open.聽See here聽if you鈥檝e got what it takes to help educate the future of Tanzania!
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