About Gemma: In 2007 Gemma’s achievements were honoured by an Order of Australia medal.

Her story has been featured twice in the ABC TV documentary program Australian Story, in 2005 and a follow-up in 2009. In 2012 Gemma was named one of The Australian Financial Review and Westpac’s 100 Women of Influence, nominated in the Global category and was also a finalist in New South Wales for Australian of the Year.

Gemma has travelled the world spreading the word about The School of St Jude; from the International Rotary Convention to the TEDx stage, she has inspired people of all ages and from all walks of life with her story. St Jude’s was built on her belief that everyone has the right to an education and the power that education has in fighting poverty. After literally building the school from the ground up in 2002, Gemma has changed the lives of thousands of students and their families forever.

On her tour, Gemma will speak about how she came to find herself in Africa and went on to establish St Jude’s, just outside Arusha, in Tanzania. She will explain how a high-quality education was out of reach for most Tanzanian children, about the reality of life without an education in East Africa. St Jude’s is a pioneering leader in charitable education that in 17 years has grown from one teacher and three students to providing 1,800 students with a free, high-quality education and St Jude’s graduates with a path on to university.

She’ll share some of the achievements of the school and its students, as well as some of the challenges she’s faced over the last 16 years building St Jude’s up to be the success it is today. We hope that Gemma will be joined on her tour by a St Jude’s graduate whose life was changed when they received an academic scholarship. They’ll speak about their personal experience of attending St Jude’s and what is has meant to them to be able to access a good education. They will give a joint presentation, providing a unique insight into what it took to create St Jude’s and what it means to those who have benefited from it.