Faith in Action
July 26, 2025 at 12:00 a.m.
Maryjane Gallo and Mary Sheridan, parishioners of Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, have made it their personal mission to further education for African children, thanks to a transformative experience 14 years ago.
While Gallo taught social studies and integrated language arts to students at Holy Cross Academy, Rumson, part of their lessons involved outreach to the less fortunate – specifically, to children in need of schools in the East African nation of Tanzania.
In 2011, Gallo went on a life-changing, five-month sabbatical to serve with the Catholic Medical Mission Board in the Jesuit Morning Star School in Tanzania.
She fundraised $5,000 to participate in the program, thanks to the generosity of school parents and Holy Cross Parish members – and with the approval of then-pastor Father Michael Manning, Gallo was ready to travel.
Sheridan, a school parent whose son was a student of Gallo’s, would learn of her journey and play a key part after Gallo’s return.
Answering a Call
An international, faith-based NGO, CMMB has provided long-term, co-operative, medical and developmental aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare for more than a century. Gallo’s involvement with the CMMB sabbatical and teaching at Morning Star put her in the path of another opportunity to expand education.
“Other projects find you,” she said. “I could see the need in this area … I was haunted with the idea that education was needed.”
Her chance encounter with Richard Sulumet, director of the Tawawami Children’s Project, and pioneer of an elementary school in Mwanza, Tanzania, gave her the inspiration to get her home community involved.
At a PTA Faith in Action presentation Gallo gave at Holy Cross upon her return from Africa in 2012, Sheridan was present. She approached Gallo and said, “What can we do to help?”
“Well,” Gallo replied, “Do you want to build a school?”
Hope for the Future
Gallo and Sheridan work closely with Sulumet by raising funds to support the educational, medical and housing needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Mwanza.
Situated along the southern border of Lake Victoria in Mwanza and Isanzu, the two schools they support rely upon fundraising, much of which comes from the Project’s effort and private donations.
Sheridan recalled, “We thought we would raise money, someone would write a check, and we’d be done.”
That was more than 12 years ago.
Sulumet began the original school in 2013 – a one-room building with a few desks and a dirt floor. Its 20 students were otherwise unable to receive a steady education, having been orphaned or affected by the HIV/AIDS virus.
Ongoing fundraising efforts by Holy Cross Academy and other groups and individuals have covered rental fees and additional land purchase. Now 136 children benefit from two schools – a pre-K and day care center that opened in 2014, and secondary school for grades 4-8 finished in 2023.
Leased buses provide transportation and health insurance for each child gives them access to any doctor or hospital in the country.
Many children live in tin huts with dirt floors, Sheridan explained, and “are orphaned, living with grandparents [or] one parent figure … Some also have HIV/AIDS.”
There is no free public education available in Mwanza; families must pay for children to attend school. About a third of the students rely completely on funds raised by the Project.
“Walking to school, you see children digging through the garbage for food,” Gallo said. “Most have one article of clothing.”
The Tawawami Children’s Project schools provide both a nutrition program and uniforms, which give children an additional outfit, and “pride in being part of the school community. It’s providing them hope for the future,” Gallo continued.
Community Impact
While not religiously affiliated, the schools are mainly attended by Christian and Catholic students and are open to any student regardless of religious background.
The Project has also provided employment for adults in the community: bus drivers, kitchen and garden staff, teachers, security personnel and builders.
Two foundations – the Peterson Family Foundation and the Gray Foundation – have supplemented individual donations to the Project, which continues to rely on funding to sustain and develop the schools.
Tuition is $635 annually; currently 55 students need tuition assistance. Building costs, teacher salaries, medical insurance, a nutrition program, school supplies and uniforms as well as agricultural projects (chickens and cows) to help the Project become self-sustaining also require funds.
“We are constantly looking for ways to support,” Gallo said. “If we had the funds, we would also like to open a medical building and provide boarding.”
For more information, visit the Project’s website at tawawami.org.
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Maryjane Gallo and Mary Sheridan, parishioners of Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, have made it their personal mission to further education for African children, thanks to a transformative experience 14 years ago.
While Gallo taught social studies and integrated language arts to students at Holy Cross Academy, Rumson, part of their lessons involved outreach to the less fortunate – specifically, to children in need of schools in the East African nation of Tanzania.
In 2011, Gallo went on a life-changing, five-month sabbatical to serve with the Catholic Medical Mission Board in the Jesuit Morning Star School in Tanzania.
She fundraised $5,000 to participate in the program, thanks to the generosity of school parents and Holy Cross Parish members – and with the approval of then-pastor Father Michael Manning, Gallo was ready to travel.
Sheridan, a school parent whose son was a student of Gallo’s, would learn of her journey and play a key part after Gallo’s return.
Answering a Call
An international, faith-based NGO, CMMB has provided long-term, co-operative, medical and developmental aid to communities affected by poverty and unequal access to healthcare for more than a century. Gallo’s involvement with the CMMB sabbatical and teaching at Morning Star put her in the path of another opportunity to expand education.
“Other projects find you,” she said. “I could see the need in this area … I was haunted with the idea that education was needed.”
Her chance encounter with Richard Sulumet, director of the Tawawami Children’s Project, and pioneer of an elementary school in Mwanza, Tanzania, gave her the inspiration to get her home community involved.
At a PTA Faith in Action presentation Gallo gave at Holy Cross upon her return from Africa in 2012, Sheridan was present. She approached Gallo and said, “What can we do to help?”
“Well,” Gallo replied, “Do you want to build a school?”
Hope for the Future
Gallo and Sheridan work closely with Sulumet by raising funds to support the educational, medical and housing needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged children in Mwanza.
Situated along the southern border of Lake Victoria in Mwanza and Isanzu, the two schools they support rely upon fundraising, much of which comes from the Project’s effort and private donations.
Sheridan recalled, “We thought we would raise money, someone would write a check, and we’d be done.”
That was more than 12 years ago.
Sulumet began the original school in 2013 – a one-room building with a few desks and a dirt floor. Its 20 students were otherwise unable to receive a steady education, having been orphaned or affected by the HIV/AIDS virus.
Ongoing fundraising efforts by Holy Cross Academy and other groups and individuals have covered rental fees and additional land purchase. Now 136 children benefit from two schools – a pre-K and day care center that opened in 2014, and secondary school for grades 4-8 finished in 2023.
Leased buses provide transportation and health insurance for each child gives them access to any doctor or hospital in the country.
Many children live in tin huts with dirt floors, Sheridan explained, and “are orphaned, living with grandparents [or] one parent figure … Some also have HIV/AIDS.”
There is no free public education available in Mwanza; families must pay for children to attend school. About a third of the students rely completely on funds raised by the Project.
“Walking to school, you see children digging through the garbage for food,” Gallo said. “Most have one article of clothing.”
The Tawawami Children’s Project schools provide both a nutrition program and uniforms, which give children an additional outfit, and “pride in being part of the school community. It’s providing them hope for the future,” Gallo continued.
Community Impact
While not religiously affiliated, the schools are mainly attended by Christian and Catholic students and are open to any student regardless of religious background.
The Project has also provided employment for adults in the community: bus drivers, kitchen and garden staff, teachers, security personnel and builders.
Two foundations – the Peterson Family Foundation and the Gray Foundation – have supplemented individual donations to the Project, which continues to rely on funding to sustain and develop the schools.
Tuition is $635 annually; currently 55 students need tuition assistance. Building costs, teacher salaries, medical insurance, a nutrition program, school supplies and uniforms as well as agricultural projects (chickens and cows) to help the Project become self-sustaining also require funds.
“We are constantly looking for ways to support,” Gallo said. “If we had the funds, we would also like to open a medical building and provide boarding.”
For more information, visit the Project’s website at tawawami.org.