2015 was one of our most successful years fighting poverty through education!
Not only did our first ever Form 6 graduating class finish in the top 10% in Tanzania, these amazing graduates went on to help thousands of students at under-resourced government schools by volunteering as teachers.
Our amazing supporters helped us with one of the most successful fundraising appeals in our school history and we were able to reach more people than ever through the release of our new school DVD.
Here are just a few of the amazing stories you made possible in 2015.
Our first ever Form 6 graduates finish in top 10%
More than 100 supporters and sponsors joined a crowd of more than TK to celebrate our groundbreaking first Form 6 graduation in May – and, boy, did they have a lot to celebrate.
The class of finished in the top 10% overall, with especially strong performances in chemistry, economics, advanced mathematics and physics. All our students passed and more than half achieved the top mark of “Distinction”.
An amazing achievement by a group of students who come from some of the poorest families in Arusha.
Inaugural Community Service Year helps 1000s of students
Our Form 6 graduates began putting their education to good use immediately after finishing school by enlisting in the inaugural Community Service Year. Of the TK graduates, TK volunteered, with 21 under-resourced government schools around Arusha benefiting from program.
In the first year of the program, our graduates have helped more than TK students while volunteering as teachers.
Our Standard 7s finish in the top 2%
More great Form 6 results could be on their way in the future – if our Standard 7 results are any indication.
From more than 16,000 schools in the country, our 135 final-year primary students placed in the top 2% for national exams, and we could not be more proud.
These students will start high school next year, where they will be given everything they need to ensure the good results continue.
Liston and Daniel at ALA
There’s one thing Ezekiel wants to do when he finishes university and gets the job of his dreams. “I’m going to buy my parents a house,” the smiley 15-year-old says.
And, boy, do they deserve it. Ezekiel’s parents, Jenifer and Michael, are unskilled workers in one of the world's poorest countries, spending everything they have to provide their five children with an education.
"Education is the only way my children can have a future," says Jenifer, who dropped out of school after only two years.
"If they don't get an education they will end up like us, without any opportunities."
Unfortunately, Jenifer and Michael's dream of seeing all their children graduate is impossible without help.
In Tanzania, even public schools charge for secondary education and Jenifer and Michael are already putting three of their children through high school.
"We don't have the money to send our youngest children (Ezekiel and Jacob, 12) all the way through high school," Jenifer says.
St Jude's is helping the family by giving Ezekiel a free, high-quality education so he can escape the cycle of poverty and become a leader in his community.
Ezekiel showed he had the determination and academic talent to thrive at St Jude's when he emerged as one of the top students at a severely under-resourced government primary school.
The first-year high school student has already impressed at St Jude's, receiving A's in English, maths, art, commerce and bookkeeping.
"My parents have sacrificed so much to make sure we could go to school," says Ezekiel, who helps his family by selling plastic bags at local markets on weekends.
"They've taught us that we have to make the most of this opportunity so we can have a better life."
With the support of St Jude's he will be given an education that consistently ranks in the top 10% in Tanzania and will be supported as he goes through university.
"I want to use my education to help other people who are in poverty," he says.
"In Tanzania, we need education. It's the only way we can develop as a country."
