It poured with rain across Northern Tanzania on Saturday, November 28, 2020. Still, nothing could dampen the spirit of St Jude’s community, as they prepared for the biggest Form 1 Student Selection Day in the school’s history!
Every year, until now, Form 1 Student Selection Day has been held onsite at Sisia Campus in Arusha. Government school students and their families travel from near and far, gathering outside the blue and yellow school gates from as early as 6:00am, hoping to pass the first stage of the academic entrance tests. It’s a day full of promise for all involved.
In 2019, approximately 1,300 government school students were invited to Sisia Campus to take the academic entrance tests. In 2020, St Jude’s community challenged themselves to go even further. For the very first time, 300 staff, parent representatives and Community Service Year volunteers divided and conquered, setting up testing stations in three regions across Northern Tanzania: Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Manyara.
Nearly 4,000 of the top-performing Standard 7 students within the three regions were invited to sit the academic entrance tests. In total, around 2,300 government school students attended. Many of them trudged through mud for miles and crossed pot-holed roads to reach the testing centres by 7:30am, determined to succeed and earn a place at The School of St Jude.
St Jude’s Deputy Director, Angela (who was also our first volunteer teacher in 2002) was based in Manyara on Selection Day this year.
“The great thing about Form 1 Student Selection is that, because these children performed well in their Standard 7 national exams, we already know they are highly motivated with their studies. They’ve thrived in under-resourced government schools for seven years. They’ve had minimal learning resources, and most have been crammed into classrooms with anywhere from 50 to 100 other students,” Angela said.
Academic testing is just the first stage of the Student Selection process. To be eligible for a St Jude’s scholarship, students must demonstrate their academic aptitude, but their family must also be very poor.
We test and select the brightest and poorest students so that those students can lead their family, community and country to growth and prosperity. This is how we are fighting poverty through education: the core aim of St Jude’s.
Vivian, Manager of the Beyond St Jude’s program, has worked at St Jude’s for six years and participated in 13 Student Selection days. Vivian was stationed at our selection centre in Moshi, a town near the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. She knows that our hopeful Form 1 applicants have quite the climb ahead.
“This Selection Day was very special. We went so far out of our comfort zone. Because of this, we will see an even bigger impact of St Jude’s across Tanzania in years to come. I was Gemma Sisia’s assistant leader at the Moshi testing centre. Our hearts were in our throats all day, and our adrenaline was pumping. We could see the great need for these students to receive a quality education,” Vivian said.
Out of more than 2,000 students who took the tests, approximately 400 have successfully progressed to the next gruelling stage of Student Selection: poverty assessments. Teams of staff will again venture across Arusha, Kilimanjaro and Manyara, interviewing students in their homes, to ensure they are well-deserving of a place at St Jude’s. There are 240 Form 1 academic scholarships on offer to students next year.
St Jude’s Founding Director, Gemma Sisia, a self-proclaimed, “challenge junkie,” was thrilled to be a part of the action.
“I’ll always remember Saturday, November 28, 2020, as one of the best days of my life,” Gemma beamed.
“The spirit and teamwork of our 300 staff, who pulled this all together, was truly phenomenal. Now, we can help more young Tanzanians and their families to overcome poverty and work their way towards a bright future,” she said.
In each selection centre, the day began with heavy rain and ended with a rainbow as staff clapped and cheered for the students who passed the first stage of selection.
After a long, anxious wait, parents warmly welcomed their child back into their arms, grinning with pride and holding their hands as they began their long journey home.
The school hopes that St Jude’s students – Tanzania’s future leaders – will pave the way to a smoother journey for themselves and their communities in years to come.
The Beyond St Jude’s program is going from strength to strength, reaching yet another milestone this year: the university graduation of 10 engineers who will transform their communities.
Beyond St Jude’s (BSJ) consists of two parts: the Community Service Year and Tertiary program. The two-part program was created to assist students’ transition to higher education after graduating from A Level at St Jude’s.
The Community Service Year (CSY) is a voluntary program for students who graduate Form 6 from St Jude’s. It aims to encourage students to give back to their communities in thanks to the free education they received.
The Tertiary program provides scholarships to help our CSY volunteers achieve their dreams of completing higher education by assisting them with payment of tuition fees, accommodation, equipment and living allowances.
Over the years, St Jude’s has seen a rise of students opting for science subjects in A Level. The school has nearly 60% of A Level students opting for science subjects and the rest studying arts and business subjects.
Some of the most popular choices that Tertiary scholars select as majors are Medicine and Engineering. Other selected degrees include Accounting, Banking, Business Management, Economics, Education, Financial Management, International Relations, Information Technology and Telecommunications.
Joseph and Mrema are two BSJ participants who completed their A Level scholarship at St Jude’s in 2015. They are among the first engineers to graduate from our BSJ Tertiary program.
Mrema will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering degree, while Joseph will hold a degree in Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering.
“Graduating is a dream come true for me. Since I was young, I’ve always wanted to be an engineer! I was always fascinated with mathematics,” Mrema said, excitedly.
“I had a brother who was a teacher, and I remember asking him what I can become when dealing with mathematics…. and he said I could become an engineer. From then on, I became curious about science subjects and, I was good at it,” he further explained.
Before heading off to university, both Joseph and Mrema enthusiastically completed a Community Service Year, teaching hundreds of students in different government schools between them.
“I taught physics and mathematics to over 300 students in a government school in Arusha. I was teaching science subjects to Form 3 and Form 4 students,” Mrema stated.
“One of the students that I taught at a government school in Form 4 was later selected to join Form 5 at St Jude’s. He went on to become the top A Level student, and now he’s off to university to study Electrical Engineering,” Mrema proudly said.
Mrema, who would like to specialise in engineering for the service industry after graduation, aspires to have his own start-up business in the future.
Just like Mrema, Joseph is thrilled to be graduating this year. He will go down in history as one of St Jude’s first engineers!
“I’m the firstborn out of four children. My mother goes around our village telling everyone I’m going to become an engineer,” Joseph said with a chuckle.
Coming from Karatu, a rural area outside Arusha, Joseph’s passion for engineering has never waned. His favourite subjects were mathematics, chemistry and physics.
“I was always curious. I wanted to know about engineering and what the industry was about. I wanted to learn about products and how they were made. I found machines to be extremely strange, and I wanted to know how they work,” Joseph explained.
Since joining St Jude’s, Joseph never looked back and put his emphasis on education.
“The chance to study at St Jude’s took my worry and uncertainties away. I was able to concentrate on my studies and perform well,” he said.
“I’ll be graduating in a few weeks, thanks to all the supporters and sponsors for making this possible. I’m overjoyed… seeing my dreams become a reality.”
Joseph believes that it’s only through the education he received from St Jude’s that he’s able to receive these remarkable opportunities and he’s confident about his future.
The season of giving is upon us again, and there’s no better present to pass on than the gift of education!
The School of St Jude mission is to educate the poorest and brightest students in Tanzania to fight poverty through education. From a big dream and a donation of just AU$10, the school has grown immensely over the past 18 years. This would not have been possible without the support and generosity of thousands of donors from around the world who give what they can to help St Jude’s fulfil its mission.
St Jude’s students, from primary school all the way through to higher education programs have been receiving the gift of free education from sponsors. By sponsoring the academic scholarship of a student, you can help them to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty.
St Jude’s educates 1,800 students in primary and secondary and assists over 300 scholars through higher education. All have the potential to be future leaders within their community, and many dream of doing just that.
“We have three levels of sponsorship packages that cater for primary, secondary and higher education scholarships,” said Brenda, Head of Sponsor Relations.
Sponsoring a student’s academic scholarship is much greater than just providing education. It also gives them educational resources, transport, school and boarding uniforms, hot, nutritious meals daily as well as a safe, clean living environment with reliable electricity and water for students in boarding… everything required for a successful education!
“Supporters can choose any three types of sponsorship packages: sole sponsorship, co-sponsorship or shared sponsorship,” Brenda explained.
“Sole sponsorship means that a person will cover the full cost of a student’s academic scholarship. Co-sponsorship covers half the cost of an academic scholarship. You can also sign up for a shared sponsorship package; this covers a part of the cost of an academic scholarship.”
Sponsorship packages extend to higher education scholarships; this means that a supporter can help a St Jude’s graduate through the Beyond St Jude’s (BSJ) program. The Beyond St Jude’s (BSJ) program was first introduced in 2015 to help our graduating Form 6 students start the next stage of their life while continuing to develop their leadership potential and community spirit. The program enables graduates to give back to their communities in an educational context as volunteers through a Community Service Year (CSY) and then provides them with the support they need to go on to access higher education.
All of the students awarded St Jude’s scholarships, show academic promise, but their families are trapped in a cycle of poverty. Without additional academic support, they may not be able to finish school.
“For any generous supporter who would like to know what it takes to be a sponsor and contribute to the quality education of a St Jude’s student or graduate, our website has all the information. Visit www.schoolofstjude.org, open the ‘Support Us’ tab, and you can select a sponsorship package of your choice. Or, you can email info@schoolofstjude.co.tz. We will be glad to assist,” Brenda assured.
Optimal communication is an integral part of the sponsorship program; it enables sponsors and students to build a connection.
“For every student, we make sure that the sponsor gets all the information… progress reports, academic reports, awards, information about ceremonies and other updates. This communication is well-coordinated and monitored,” Brenda added.
Sponsors, donors and all supporters are the backbones of St Jude’s accomplishments. Every milestone achieved by the school would not have been possible if it wasn’t for all the kind-hearted supporters that continue to form St Jude’s multi-national family.
“As we enter December, a month of giving, we would like to thank all the supporters who have dedicated themselves to making an impact. We truly appreciate their continuous support of the school and especially the students. It’s because of this blessing that The School of St Jude can continue its mission of fighting poverty through education,” Brenda said.
The School of St Jude still has a long way to go, but with the continued support from generous supporters around the world, St Jude’s will be able to enrol and educate more students every year. Give the gift of education and help to transform Tanzania’s future generations!
Robinson, although shy and softly spoken, has big dreams of becoming a science teacher.
Robinson joined The School of St Jude in 2017, selected for an A Level scholarship. He was one of over 300 new students carefully chosen from a government school.
“I attended government schools for my primary and O Level studies. When my Form 4 examination results came out, I did well. That’s when I got an invitation from St Jude’s to come for Selection Day,” Robinson said with a smile.
“I really enjoyed my time at St Jude’s. I loved how we could finish topics on time, and we had enough books and time to study with friends. I even learnt my computer skills at St Jude’s. For my mid-term break, I didn’t go home; I chose to spend two weeks learning how to type and operate a computer,” he added.
Robinson was born in Mulala, a rural area on the southern slope of Mount Meru in Arusha. He’s the firstborn child in his family and has three siblings. Growing up, Robinson always had a passion for teaching. He would teach his siblings and his neighbours’ children what he was learning in school.
“I remember when I was in Standard 7, teachers would ask me to assist them in teaching the class. They would also ask me to tutor their children in exchange for books. My teaching continued through my O Level years, and I would teach my fellow students and revise with them,” he explained.
After graduating from Form 6 at St Jude’s, Robinson was accepted into the Beyond St Jude’s (BSJ) program as a Community Service Year (CSY) volunteer. During his CSY, he voluntarily returned to the same government school where he completed his O Level studies to teach. Robinson taught physics to over 50 students.
“I loved teaching the students so much that I had requested to extend my time at the government school before going off to university,” Robinson shared.
For his next chapter, Robinson has chosen to major in Bachelor of Science in Education in Dar es Salaam. This is a significant milestone in his educational journey, as only 4% of tertiary-aged people are enrolled in higher education courses. He’s looking forward to graduating from university so he can return to teaching!
“The difference between St Jude’s and government schools is that St Jude’s teachers use a voice of reason to discipline students. That’s a model I would like to follow when I start teaching.”
Robinson says he believes in having a conversation and addressing a root cause when dealing with students that misbehave in class.
“During my CSY time, I would call a student who is misbehaving and talk with them. By doing this, my class became the overall best performing physics class in the school that year!”
“I believe that teachers who use harsh methods of discipline don’t get the best results out of those students. Students become scared of their teachers, and even if they have a problem, they would be scared to express themselves or ask a question,” Robinson added.
Robinson’s future is bright, and his greatest wish is to come back and teach at St Jude’s.
“I would like to come back to St Jude’s and teach physics to secondary school students,” Robinson said joyfully.
St Jude’s provides a positive, supportive, safe and secure environment in which all students can live, learn and develop in their studies.
