Smiles are readily shared across the St Jude’s campuses… come and get yours by visiting us on your next holiday!

Each year, hundreds of visitors are warmly welcomed to our campuses and see first-hand the impact our 100% charity-funded school is having on education in Tanzania.

More than 1800 students receive a free, high-quality education here at St Jude’s – an opportunity they would be unlikely to have without the enduring backing of our many generous international supporters. 

A visit to St Jude’s can be catered to your liking, whether it be a taste of school life via participation in drumming lessons and other extra-curricular activities with our students, enjoying school lunch with them, or taking a school tour and visiting classes. See first-hand the quality teaching that has recently seen our Standard 7 (Grade 7) placed in the top 2% of Tanzania’s national exams.

Our inaugural Form 6 graduation class finished in the top 10% in the country in 2015, with a 100% pass rate and more than 50% getting the highest mark of distinction. More than 80% of these graduates spent the year before university volunteering in their local communities through the Beyond St Jude’s Community Service Year, which addresses the severe teacher shortage in Tanzania by placing graduates in government schools.

Long-time Aussie supporter Glenys was one of 41 international visitors who flew in mere months ago to be part of our jubilant Form 6 graduation.

“My first day I was greeted by two handsome young lads...and with flowers!” she said. “I was warmly greeted, every day was an adventure and I can't wait to return!”

But it’s not just the students you’ll meet on your visit here.

The families of our students are happy to welcome visitors into their homes (with 48 hours notice) for a chat, perhaps a snack and some traditional Tanzanian hospitality. It’s an experience you’ll never likely forget, and a rare opportunity to see what life is like for those financially disadvantaged families whose promising children are offered scholarships at St Jude’s.

In Tanzania the average years of schooling for a population of almost 50 million is just over five, and 92.6% of the total population above 25 years has no secondary education. Of the 1.63 million students who entered Standard 1 in 2002, only 38,853 graduated Form 6. That’s just 2.4%.

You’ll also meet our staff members – almost 300 locals whose salaries support 1,895 people in the Arusha community. At St Jude’s we work hard to instill the concept of giving back to the community, and these amazing academic, administration and maintenance staff members lead by example by spending 19,256 hours volunteering in their local community each year.

St Jude’s is situated in Arusha, otherwise known as the “gateway to the Serengeti”. With major national parks right here on our doorstep, safari is the most popular activity our visitors combine with a visit or stay at our school. There are plenty of safari operator options available, including safaris-R-us (school founder Gemma and her husband Richard’s safari company), which donates US$50 to St Jude’s for every person who books through them.

See what others have thought about their day visit, on TripAdvisor. You can even stay overnight at our primary school campus! See what others have thought about their stay, on TripAdvisor.

Karibu (‘Welcome’ in Swahili)! Come along - have an African adventure, meet the real people of Tanzania and see the amazing impact St Jude’s is having on education and the future for yourself!