In a restaurant garden the graduates came dressed to impress. The sun shone as they began arriving. Alongside the food and drink were speeches from the school founder Gemma, the Community Service Year interns, the Beyond St Jude’s team and other graduates. It was more than just a school reunion; it was family reunion for the School of St Jude.

For Enock, the reunion was part of a very happy weekend of events.

“It was our first ever reunion and one of my best weekends of 2016. I had so much fun and 24 hours later I received my university acceptance news!”

The whole event was entrusted to a select number of interns and they pulled it off wonderfully! The staff who were lucky enough to be invited were all highly impressed by what the interns had organised. It was not just a social event, it became an opportunity for past students to communicate their ideas for the future with one another, with the school and with a few current students who were in attendance.

The event was a great opportunity to be reacquainted with everyone, as alongside our Community Service Year interns were the students who had decided to move straight on to university. Those who have spent the past year at university, including Jackson and Editha, got up to share tips and stories to help our interns for the year ahead. Jackson warned his peers about the struggles of budgeting, living with new people and coming to class adequately prepared to learn. 

Community Service Year interns, Joseph and Anna, shared an overview of how they felt their Community Service Year had been and what it had taught them. Joseph explained how proud he is to be from St Jude’s.

"I realised my colleagues and new friends treat me with great respect simply because I come from St Jude’s.”

It was heart-warming to see them all so excited to spend time with each other and share their stories.

“I haven’t seen some of these people for a year now, so it’s been really fun!” said Edina.

Anna thought the day was incredibly special.

“This was the first one, there will never be a reunion like this again. Of course, many will follow on from us, but this is the first! I loved everything – catching up with my classmates, many whom I have not seen in quite some time, and I loved the food!” She said. 

“What I won’t forget about this day is that this has been the funnest day of my life. We have not all been together since school finished, and may never all be together again. I have no words to express how special this is.”

Sadly, some of the Community Service Year interns who had chosen to keep working until they leave for university were not in attendance as they had too many papers to grade and exams to prepare. Talk about good work ethic!

It was clear that even after all this time, St Jude’s students will always be family to one another. This bond cannot be broken by time and distance.

The School of St Jude is not just a school, it is a family that will stay connected for years to come. We look forward to many more fun filled reunions in the future!

Want to help St Jude’s continue to educate future leaders? Sponsor a student today.

Two St Jude’s students who love all things that fizzle and pop were invited to participate in this years Tanzania Young Scientist (TYS) competition with their proud teacher Humprey Nkya.

Their project, ‘Developing a sustainable method of mushroom production for poor people using plant waste materials’, involves growing mushrooms in a way that can be easily adapted for local families who farm vegetable plots in Arusha.

As well as a valuable learning experience for the students, it was also a learning experience for our Biology head of department, Humphrey Nkya.

“I had the opportunity to meet and share science ideas with teachers from all regions of Tanzania. With the experience I got, I can now provide better advice and guidance to our students and provide them with the support to grow their ideas and skills for science projects”.

The two girls, Arafra and Lillian, were awarded a certificate of participation for their project.

“We grew the mushrooms and looked after them every day.” Arafra proudly explains. “We then had to write up our experiment like in a science paper.”

Lilian told us "The aim of the project was to find an alternative source of food for poor farmers. Mushrooms are a great source of nutrients people may not normally get in their diet”.

“They are easy to grow and don’t take a lot of time, so they are a really great option for poor people in Tanzania” Arafra said.

The girls learnt a lot through the project about scientific studies, practice and nutrition which will be helpful for the two in their future careers. Arafra wants to be an actuary and Lilian wants to be a neurosurgeon or a cardiac surgeon. 

Other high flying science students were recently invited to attend the Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology to present their new inventions and projects. Eric is one of the students invited, he presented his automatic vending machine. 

“The vending machine uses old computer parts programmed in a specific way so that people can purchase drinks when shops are closed. I researched the pros and cons of the system and came up with a list of requirements for places you may be able to install it”.

The project was also well received at our science day and at our careers day.

Although Eric loves science he is planning to be an accountant in the future.

The future is also something Eric’s Physics teacher Hashim, who accompanied him on the visit, is also looking forward to.

“I am very proud of them. I am looking forward to next year when we will also compete!” 

These achievements are the latest example of our commitment to fostering a new generation of scientists in Tanzania.

Our students have excelled in local, national and even international science competitions and camps. We believe that by fostering and developing a love for science St Jude's is helping our students prepare to make a real difference in a country where many government schools do not have science teachers or labs.

Following our three consecutive, successful years competing in the Tanzania Young Scientist (TYS) competition, sponsor and major electricity supplier Songas has awarded St Jude’s a special Passion for Science Award.

Want to help St Jude’s students continue to excel in science? Donate to Learning Resources today