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Gemma Sisia - The School of St Jude in Tanzania
Gemma Sisia is the Founding director of The School of St Jude, in Tanzania.
Gemma grew up on a large farm property in Armidale, NSW. She studied at Melbourne University and the University of New England in Armidale. As a trained teacher, she travelled to Uganda to put her qualifications to good use, volunteering as a teacher in a girl's centre. Gemma's experiences there raised her awareness of the dramatic need for an effective and available education for local children. The School of St Jude is the product of these realisations. After extensive canvassing and fundraising, the school was established. Over 20 years, it has grown to over 1800 students and provides a free, quality education. A majorty of its around 300 staff are from the school area.
Rotary clubs from a wide range of areas in Australia have support the school's development over time and the link with Rotary is still a strong one. The Rotary Club of Ocean Grove is privileged to be able to host this community meeting to hear Gemma's story.
She will explain her dreams and vision for the school as well as the history of it's development. Also presenting will be an ex-student of the school - John Stanley who will explain how his school experiences have impacted on his life/career., There will be opportunities to purchase school related merchandise and contribute to their programs.
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Tea/coffee and nibbles will be provided.
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If you'd like any more information about the evening, please contact Kath (Rotary Board Member) â€0418 570 726‬
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Please register your attendance (for catering purposes only) by clicking the link: Yes I will be attending
Click to download a copy of these flyers
Changover Dinner
During the changeover dinner, a number of awards were presented to a range of members, acknowledging their hard work and dedication a wide range of areas.
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• Lynne Carlson presented the Club based John Fox Award for 2024 jointly to Rod Birrell and David Larkin for their work in a range of club based activities.
• ADG Gil Morgan presented the District Avenues of Service Awards to Heather Willson and Lisa Hanley for their work in Community service and to John Karis for his work in Vocational Service.
• Kath Venters and Rod Bush received an award from the past District Governor, Ian McKay, for Outstanding Service in a range of Rotary projects.
DG Lesley Shedden then presented Paul Harris recognition awards.
The first PHF group were club recommended and were awarded to Andrea Tierney, Meredith O’Neill, Noel Emselle, Peter Cowburn, Lynne Carlson and Rod Bush.
The second group were awarded based on direct contributions to the Foundation and were awarded to Alex Magee, Lisa Hanley, Chris Watson and Gil Morgan.
We also acknowledged our Paul Harris Society members for their ongoing commitment to the Rotary Foundation: Paul Brewster, Alison George, Gordon King, Alex Magee, Gil Morgan, Chris Watson and Gary Wilson.
Congratulations to them all !
2024/5 President
Meredith O'Neill

2024/5 Board

Our newest member!
Bill Jeffries
