Working on an aid project while studying for a law degree inspired alumna Annabelle Chauncy to set up the School for Life Foundation to educate disadvantaged children.

After 48 hours travelling from Uganda to Sydney enduring numerous flight delays and a missing bag, Annabelle Chauncy (BA ’07 LLB ’10) sounds surprisingly calm. But, as she points out, one of the key skills she needs for working in Africa is patience.

In 2007, when she was 21 and studying law at the University of Sydney, Chauncy worked on an aid project for three months in Kenya and Uganda. While there, she travelled to Tanzania, to the School of St Jude, which was founded by Australian Gemma Sisia. “When I saw that Gemma had built a school that looked just like a school in Australia, I thought ‘if this Aussie woman can do it, I can do it too’.”