How I Got Here: Gemma Sisia
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Admit it, we’ve all been there—deep dive stalking social media and LinkedIn profiles, trying desperately to figure out how the hell someone got their dream job.
It seems impossible and yet there they are, living out your career fantasy (minus the itchy business suit). It might seem hard to believe, but once upon a time, they were also fantasising about their future career, and with some hard work, they made it.
Welcome to How I Got Here, HerCanberra’s series that reveals everything you wanted to know about the secrets of career success.
This week we chat with Gemma Sisia, the founder of The School of St Jude in Tanzania. Starting in 2002 with one student, today it provides free, quality education to 1,800 primary and secondary students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Here’s her story of how she got here, in her words.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Gemma, and I’m the Founder of The School of St Jude in Tanzania. I am also a proud mum, my husband Richard and I have been blessed with four beautiful children. In my spare time, I help Richard with our safari company here in Arusha, and as a passionate dog person spend a lot of time raising Labradors!
Let’s go back to when you were a kid, have you always dreamed of working in this industry?
No, not at all! Growing up in rural New South Wales, I actually wanted to be a doctor, which really would never have worked out as I faint at the sight of blood…
This path I ended up on really started after not getting the marks to go into medicine after high school and instead choosing to science in uni. While I perhaps didn’t take my science degree as seriously as I should have, I made me begin contemplating going into teaching as it’s very common for women in the areas I grew up, mostly nurses and teachers. As fate would have it, I met a nun when I was in my first year of university. She told me she had been running a school in Uganda, and she was after maths and science teachers! I thought it sounded interesting so I said that after I finish university, I’ll come over and help her.
Then a few years later, there I was in East Africa! Sadly, the sister had passed away before I came over, but she truly changed the direction of my life. I found my love for teaching in Uganda and haven’t looked back!
Tell us about when you were first starting out, what set a fire in your belly to get here and how did you do it?
I grew up with seven wonderful, but very wild, brothers and I watched my mother and father doing everything that they could to put all EIGHT of us into good schools. Through their sacrifice they instilled the importance of education in me from a young age and I guess that’s where it all started.
Then when I went to Uganda to teach at a high school there and I watched as students were unable to complete their education because they couldn’t afford it, unfortunately often triggered by the death of a parent during the HIV/AIDs issues of the 90s, before medicine was available. I became determined to build a private school that did not charge school fees so parents didn’t have to struggle like mine did, and if children lost their parents, they didn’t have to leave school. While this was the situation back in the 9os, even today, on average, three of our students lose a parent every month. This is of course heartbreaking, but at the absolute least, we can ensure they stay in school.
How did you do it?
At this stage, Richard and I were together and we spoke to his father about the idea. I’d originally thought to open the school in Uganda but he offered two-acre of his family land to build a school right here in Arusha for his community instead. This set it all in motion, so I went back to Australia to tell my family and friends, that I was building a free private school in Tanzania! You can imagine how that went down… But I had the land and my first $10 donation from a close friend, so nothing could deter me! I opened a bank account, deposited my $10 and then I started my fundraising drive. Now, this is the 90s, well before the connected digital age we live in now, so I went door to door speaking at local clubs, schools, churches, and basically anyone who would be willing to listen to me.
I eventually raised enough money for the first classroom block, so I took a group of people from my hometown to begin the build. In 2002 we officially opened the school – starting with just three students and one teacher, and that was that!
Recall a time when you wanted to chuck it all in; what did you tell yourself when it got too hard?
Gosh, more times than I can count, it’s incredibly challenging! But what keeps me going? For the first eight years it was to prove the naysayers wrong! Everyone said it’s impossible to have a quality private school that’s free, so I was up for the challenge. And, I think it was the challenge that kept me going.
For the last 10 or 15 years it’s more the responsibility. We have 350 staff on average. Each staff member’s salary supports five people at home. We have over 2,000 students from primary all the way through to university that we’re supporting. I cannot chuck it in. Over the years, there are some dark times every single year. And what keeps me going, there’s a saying, this too shall pass. Have you heard of that saying? And so it will always pass.
For example seeing our alumni, hundreds of them now having finished university, gone onto jobs, started businesses and really forging their own paths. Hearing about what they’re doing is the most motivating thing. Last weekend I took my daughter to the local pool and bumped into six alumni and we ended up speaking for over an hour together telling me what they’re doing, and it was just so wonderful. One of them had even just got a grant from Reddit for $100,000 to expand his business! He has now even committed to pay for all the science materials that students need for their projects at our Science Day as that’s is where it all really started for him!
So, nowadays, I think it’s the alumni who are out making real differences in our community that inspire me and just give me such happiness. I also feel humbled knowing that they even wanted to talk to me. It’s lovely. So that’s what keeps me going. The impact.
What was your biggest break?
Receiving the two-acres of land from my father-in-law. It made is so real. He said to me, “Do you think you could raise enough money to build a school for the children in this village? Could you build a school on this land?”
From there it all snowballed. I owe a lot to Richards family and the community here, I’m not sure couldn’t have done it without that initial gesture!
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
I should always get some complaints from my “customers”. If you’re not getting complaints, your customers don’t care enough or it’s not an open line; because no business can run 100 percent well.
For example, when I started the school, I’d ask the parents to give feedback on what they wanted to improve and they would always tell me that everything is wonderful! I suspected that was because they were worried their child might lose their scholarship if they complained, so I asked a few of them to form a committee to provide an anonymous list of suggestions each month and BAM, it worked! That committee is still running today.
I think that’s best advice – always be open to receiving constructive criticism.
What is it about your industry that you love and what makes you want to pull your hair out?
I love witnessing the students growing and reaching their potential. It’s such an honour to be in this industry and play a part in that success. You witness a span of 15- 16 years from when a child enrols in grade one to seeing them working or starting a family or business. For example I took my mother-in-law to the hospital and it was one of our alumni who was the doctor who treated her! I remember enrolling the same alumni into grade one, many years ago, so that’s what I love about this industry.
What makes me pull my hair out? All the administration behind running a school and organization with now 350 staff and 2,000 students! We are dealing with vulnerable people and children which need to be handled with care and strict rules which also comes with a lot of procedures and processes which all have to be documented. It’s a lot of work!
Tell us how you ‘stay in the know’, what media do you consume?
For me it’s mostly YouTube! That’s how I keep up with what’s happening around Tanzania as well as here, in Australia. Over 90 percent of our donations come from Australia so it’s important to know what’s happening back home!
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Right here! In five years, I think I’ll have at least a few alumni on our school boards. Maybe we’ve got some alumni in leadership positions at the school. We have currently around 25 employed. At the moment, we have over 400 students across 14 countries at over 40 universities. In five years’ time, all of those students will have graduated, and they’ll all be making an impact here.
Why should people follow in your footsteps?
I think people should follow which ever direction suits them! Find something that they love doing. Not necessarily with me in education, but they might love painting. Just become the best painter that you can. Or if you love writing, or if you love building, or if you love cooking, it doesn’t matter what it is. But I think I would love to see people following their passion. And be put in what they need to be the best and believe in themselves.
What advice would you give your past self?
Don’t come to Africa! Just kidding… Marry Richard earlier. That would be my advice. Marry my husband earlier. My husband and I were boyfriend and girlfriend for about six years, seven years. My family were not happy that we were going to get married. I waited and waited, hoping that I would get approval.
It never came. After six years, I told my parents that I love you, but I’m not going to wait until I’m a grandmother for you to give me permission to marry my boyfriend. So, I married Richard anyway. But had I married him after maybe two or three years, we could have had two or three more children. I would tell myself, marry Richard quickly!
