Although Summer Hands in an organization that prides itself on helping others here in our community of San Diego, we were honored to have the opportunity to travel to Tanzania this summer and visit the School of Saint Jude in Arusha, East Africa.
We spent the summer collecting clothes for the Monarch School, a K-12 school for homeless kids and those affected by homelessness. By the end of Summer we had a huge car load and set of to deliver to the Monarch School at the location on Newton Street. We arrived just as students were changing classes and were met with smiling kids, engaged, talkative and happy. It was hard to believe that most of them were living on the streets. The staff were so grateful for our efforts and we felt privileged to be able to help.
St. Jude has long been a sister school to La Jolla Country Day, The school is made up of students from Africa’s poorest regions and provides free high quality education to children who might not have a chance complete their schooling otherwise.
Having a chance to visit Africa and spend the day at St. Jude was one of the most inspiring experiences we’ve ever had. We were able to witness first hand how one school and one person’s vision, can impact an entire region and create long term change in it’s society. Their mission is to educate the brightest, most disadvantaged children and for them to become the future leaders of Tanzania.
We brought many items with us that the school needed like dry erase markers, soccer balls, books and clothing.
The highlight of our visit was touring the art and music rooms were met by students that were excited to sing and dance for us and share their experience. We were most touched by how thankful and optimistic the students are to come to school every morning, which is something we sometimes take for granted.
When we left St. Jude’s they declared us ambassadors of the school and asked that we spread the word about the important work they are doing. The school is open for support and many families right here in San Diego sponsor students at the school. We formed a bond with the school and Summer Hands looks forward to keeping in touch with St. Jude and working with them again in the future.
You can learn more about The School of St. Jude at http://www.schoolofstjude.org/
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