A journey of giving back

It’s been ten years since Anna stood proudly in her graduation gown as part of the first-ever graduating class of The School of St Jude in 2015. While much has changed since that milestone moment, Anna’s connection to the school has remained strong - coming full circle earlier this year when she started sponsoring a student scholarship. 

“In January, I started sponsoring the scholarship of a Standard 1 student named Careen. I came to the school and had the opportunity to meet her. I can’t even describe the experience. It was just incredible,” says Anna.

For Anna, sponsoring Careen's education stemmed from a desire to give back – both for the education she received and to support her community.

“When I was a student, there were people who were generous enough to sponsor my education, and now I have the chance to do it for somebody else. It’s more than financial support; it’s holding someone’s hand on the path to becoming like myself, and even more,” she adds.

Anna’s commitment to giving back began well before this year. After graduating from St Jude’s, she spent a year teaching at a government school through the Community Service Year (CSY) program that places volunteers in government schools across Arusha and nearby regions, as well as in various non-teaching roles within St Jude’s. Since the program’s inception, St Jude’s alumni have taught more than 170,000 government school students.

“When I was teaching, I saw how strained and under-resourced most government schools are. When a student joins St Jude’s, they are lucky to receive all these resources, from the teachers to the library and everything else. It’s life-changing,” says Anna.

Anna knows this transformation firsthand. Before joining St Jude’s in Form 1, she attended a government primary school where all her classes were taught in Kiswahili.

“When I graduated from Form 4, four years after being at St Jude’s, I was the best student in English. The school shaped me in every way to be prepared for the future. Now, when I think about work, I don’t just think about getting a job and a salary; I think about how my work can change the world and touch lives,” she says.

Following her CSY, Anna earned a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting in Dar es Salaam before returning to Arusha to work in the St Jude’s Accounts team.

Having been both a student and staff member, Anna has gained a unique perspective on the school’s holistic education, one that goes beyond academics to develop well-rounded individuals.

“We weren’t only taught subjects like physics, chemistry and mathematics, but also things like entrepreneurship and the importance of giving back to our communities. It shaped me in a way that I was ready to face the world not only with academic skills but with life skills too which is really important,” she adds.

Late last year, Anna took on a new role with Toyota but remains closely connected to the school. She hopes that, in time, more alumni will be able to sponsor student scholarships once they are in a position to do so.

“Every year, we have around 150 to 200 graduates, and 20 years from now, there will be thousands and thousands of students who have graduated from St Jude’s,” she says.

“If just 10 to 15 alumni from each graduating class sponsor one student scholarship each, you can imagine how many sponsors we’ll have in 20 years, and the impact that will make. From having people sponsor us when we were young and then us as alumni sponsoring our ‘younger ones,’ it’s the biggest thank you there is.”