The sky’s the limit for our students who are already mapping out their careers in science, aviation, engineering, medicine, teaching, journalism and other fields.
St Jude’s has equipped them with the confidence and skills to believe in themselves and plan for their futures. We have well-stocked libraries, state-of-the-art science laboratories, ICT labs, art and music facilities.
Throughout the year, we also invite a range of guests to come and talk to our students about their jobs and how to enter into various industries. We have had visits from female civil and electrical engineers, some who have worked at The Nelson Mandela Institute.
The guests explained to the students about the many facets of the job and the education needed to get into the field. The students asked many questions and a few stayed after the talk to get further information about the different branches of engineering. The students found the female engineers very inspiring and saw them as role models for their future ambitions.
Our secondary students also had a guest talk from freelance journalist Adam Bemma, from Canada, about pursuing careers in media. He spoke about his education and how he worked as a radio journalist in his home country. Adam explained the role of the media and the need for good journalists in the development of a country like Tanzania.
St Jude’s has many talented creative writers who are continually looking for an outlet to publish their work. Some students planned to meet with Adam at the local Mambo Jambo radio station, so they could continue to learn about journalism.
Students also learnt about the exciting world of aviation when local pilot Captain Philemon Kisamo gave a talk to the class. He talked about the different types of aircrafts and the courses available.
St Jude’s exposes its students to critical and creative thinkers so they can have many choices when they are deciding their future careers.
Four St Jude's secondary students and two teachers were given the opportunity to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in January, with our great supporter, Global Immersion. Amani, one of our Form 4 students, reached the top. Steph, our volunteer Media Officer, caught up with Amani and transcribed his reflections on the awesome feat.
"As a young boy, I never thought it possible that I would climb Kilimanjaro so I when I got the amazing opportunity to do so, I was very excited about it. Climbing Kili was tough and I thought, at times, I wouldn't make it. I am used to hiking, long distance running and athletics but going up the mountain was a new challenge for me."
"On the first day, I felt no pain or tiredness and loved walking through a forest and observing the different types of plants. We walked for about five and a half hours and I dreamt about reaching the top. The second day was a bit tougher as I really felt the cold and had to learn to climatise to the altitude but I didn't give up."
"The last night was the most challenging but it was a wonderful feeling to reach Kili. At night, from high above, I could see the bright lights of Arusha and Moshi far below. Slowly and eventually I reached the summit. It was so amazing to be on top of it and seeing the sun rise and looking over at Mount Meru which looked very small. The sun was very near to me, when I was on the peak and I felt on top of the world."
"I am from the Chagga tribe, which is from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, so I was climbing my mountain. That is what the porters would remind me of, when I felt discouraged, about how I was climbing "my mountain" and I should feel proud. I did. I felt like a 'Chagga Hero' because I had summited the mountain which is so important to me and my tribe. I felt like a great hero. It has made me feel like I can scale any mountain and I now hope and plan to climb one in Kenya someday."
"I am thankful and really appreciate St Jude's and Global Immersion for giving me the chance to climb Kili which I didn't think I'd ever get to do."
Tanzania is a country with two parallels. It experiences growth in its gas reserves and the tourism sector but many of its people are marred by poverty. Added to that is a chronic shortage of skilled scientists and other professionals to advance the country forward.
The School of St Jude believes many of its young students have the potential to become the next generation of highly qualified scientists who will make breakthroughs in their fields. Tanzanian teachers nurture our students in the classroom so they learn a whole gamut of science subjects.
In earlier grades at St Jude’s, the students learn about nutritious food and its origins -- foods that will build, protect and energise them. They do activities like sorting through fruits, vegetables and grains to know their nutritional value.
These students come from impoverished backgrounds and do not always know which are good foods or understand what it means to have a balanced diet. Their confidence grows as they identify the different types of foods.
“It’s not a concept they know. At their home at the moment, they just eat what they get and not what is supposed to be eaten. So their meals are sometimes not complete or balanced,” says Ms. Ruth Kyata, Lower Primary Science Teacher at St Jude’s.
“However, they love learning about science at St Jude’s. They’re doing practical work. They’re going home to find out about different kinds of foods and then they come to school and ask you which kind of food does this belong to.”
At this early stage, they learn about healthy foods, body cleanliness and ways to look after themselves and keep their areas clean.
Our science teachers are supported by mentors and sometimes nuns in the classroom. The teacher mentors help staff to improve their English and show them new resources, while our nuns help students with activities.
As the students enter Upper Primary they’re building on their knowledge by doing more hands on science experiments, exploring body systems, different forms of energy and plant life. Thanks to St Jude’s generous supporters, the students have access to state-of-the-art science equipment and laboratories to conduct experiments.
“They learn about germination. They have to plant the seeds themselves and see how they’re developing, do measurements and watch it grow,” says Ms. Ernesta Njau, Upper Primary Science Teacher at St Jude’s.
“I love doing experiments because it’s fun to do them and learn. One time we had to use different solutions to make an egg float in water,” says Asindh, 6D student.
It is at this stage that the students are considering the science subjects that they will take on during secondary school at St Jude’s.
St Jude’s offers specialist academic streams including science and mathematics which are both highly popular with our secondary students at Smith Campus. With eight well-resourced science labs (four for A-level and four for O-LEVEL,) St Jude’s produces exceptionally high academic results in this area.
Fifty seven per cent of St Jude’s students are girls and a large number of them are studying science at St Jude’s Smith Campus. “The girls enjoy science and we’re encouraging them to pursue it as a career,” says Mr. Samwel Meing’atu, Secondary Science Teacher at St Jude’s. “We’re trying to eliminate that stigma which says science is only for men.”
The students can study a combination subjects like physics, chemistry and biology to help them reach their goals of going to university and becoming doctors, pharmacists, nurses or engineers. They do many more hands-on experiments and dissections of small mammals to better understand bodily systems.
“We need specially trained, good scientists because we have the emerging gas and nuclear sector and oil in Zanzibar,” says Mr. Meing’atu. “We’re preparing our students to have the confidence and skills to go to university and specialise in different careers. At the moment, they’re learning a little bit about medicine and studying the living organism. Through a variety of subjects, St Jude’s is stimulating the students’ minds.”
St Jude’s is preparing its students to be future leaders in their country, Africa and abroad. They have access to career counsellors and fairs to learn how they can break into their chosen industries.
We are proud that our students are constantly challenging themselves. Each year the school holds a science fair so the students can show their creative and technological innovations. Some secondary students have recently taken their modified generator project, which runs on three fuels, to Dar es Salaam, to enter in the Tanzanian Young Scientists Competition.
You can support St Jude’s by sponsoring one of our motivated students and teachers. By sponsoring a student you will help provide pens, pencils, books, school uniforms and nourishing hot lunches. You’d also be helping our teachers who are equipped with the necessary resources to use in the classroom.
You can find out more about our sponsorship packages here.
If you have traveled around Tanzania recently, you probably have bananas on your mind.
They are the most ubiquitous food you can find here. Traveling by car, it is impossible not to notice the banana plantations lining the roads, or the women selling them in plastic containers or on pieces of cloth placed on the ground.
Tanzanians already cook green bananas in many of their dishes, whether the fruit by itself or as an ingredient in meat, beans and lentil stews.
What no one here knew is that you can add a lot more than the fruit to your recipes.
The cooks at St Jude’s learned that first hand from Anne Perera, a food and nutrition consultant from New Zealand who volunteered to give a two-day banana tree cooking course at the school.
“The blossom, green peel and the pith of the stem have a high nutritional value,” says dr. Perera.
As it turns out, green banana peels, blossoms and stems are important sources of fibers, potassium, and vitamins A, C and E.
The blossoms taste like artichokes. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part and the heart are edible. They contain saponins, phytochemicals thought to lower bad cholesterol and boost our immunity against infection. They are also an excellent source of flavonoids, which help prevent damage to DNA cells by neutralizing free radicals.
The green peel contains two important substances: tryptophan (increases serotonin levels, which balances mood and emotions) and lutein (a powerful antioxidant that protects the eye from a number of diseases and the harmful frequencies of UV radiation from the sun).
The banana stem is very beneficial for those on a weight-loss program. It is also a rich source of potassium and vitamin B6, which helps in the production of insulin and hemoglobin. Eating banana stems once a week keeps high blood pressure in control. They are diuretic and help detoxify the body.
Banana blossom
Wash it thoroughly and remove the colored outer petals one by one until the tender part is exposed.
Slice it thinly and place it in bowls with salt water.
Add cooking oil to the pot, heat it, and add chopped onions and garlic.
Squeeze the blossom slices to remove the salt water, place them in the pot and cook until tender.
Add salt and pilau masala to taste (Tanzanian seasoning made of cumin, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon and cloves)
Add green sliced green peppers, tomatoes and amaranth leaves
Cook until well blended and in the end add coconut milk
Green Peel
Wash the green bananas and peel them.
Cut the peel into small pieces and place them in salt water.
In a bit of oil sautee chopped onions and garlic and add the cut peel.
Cook until tender
Add pilau masala and salt to taste, then quartered tomatoes and coconut milk.
Pith of the Stem
Remove the pith carefully,
Slice and remove the strands as much as possible, then place in salt water.
Cut the slices further into small dices.
Dice onions, garlic, carrots and green peppers, and place in a pan with heated oil.
Add diced sliced and diced pith, green pepper, tomatoes, and finally coconut milk.
A squeeze of lime for extra taste.
These dishes can be served with ugali, the traditional Tanzanian polenta.
By Gemma Sisia
In the international dialogue about girls’ access to school as a way to end poverty, I see an elephant in the room, namely the lack of quality in public education.
You can send every girl to school and even keep them there for a number of years, but if these institutions are not equipped to teach them well, they are unlikely to achieve a generational leap out of poverty. In Sub-Saharan Africa, with many developing countries now approaching universal primary education, the challenge is how to raise the educational standards.
Whenever people find out I have founded The School of St Jude, a nonprofit school offering a free high quality education to underprivileged students in Tanzania, a common question is, “What’s your policy on gender?”
My answer, to some people’s disappointment, is, “None.”
Don’t get me wrong. I think educating girls is extremely important in the fight against poverty. The World Bank has shown how the exclusion of girls from school leads to a less qualified workforce, inefficient allocation of labor and lost productivity. According to the UNFPA, educated girls tend to marry later, have fewer children, and seek health care for themselves and their children. Organizations such as Tostan show how education programs help girls and women know their rights and fight for them.
At The School of St Jude, girls already make up 57 percent of the student body, and we didn’t need to resort to quotas to achieve that. Besides a genuine financial need, our only selection criterion is academic talent. We have more girls because, in the earliest primary school grades, when we recruit most of our new students, girls develop faster than boys.
But recruitment doesn’t solve all problems. In many public schools in Tanzania, girls have to overcome a number of obstacles in order to maintain a regular attendance.
Unisex toilets, for instance, often without doors, are common. That causes teenagers a lot of embarrassment. Equally vexing is the lack of school buses. The BBC has documented the story of a Tanzanian girl who must walk 7km to school and another 7km to get back home on a daily basis.
The trek to and from school can be a dangerous enterprise. Stories of uniformed teenage girls being abducted and raped are not uncommon. Tanzanian law determines that a girl must be permanently blocked from attending school if she gets pregnant, as reported by the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The School of St Jude has eliminated a number of these obstacles. We offer our students reliable school buses, hot meals, boarding rooms, plenty of separate bathroom facilities, and a health and welfare team to support those in need of special attention.
As our girl/boy ratio attests, if you level the playing field, girls will come and stay.
None of that, however, is enough to help girls produce the generational leap out of poverty we expect of them. If we want to give them a minimum chance of making more money and having a more comfortable life than their parents had, we need to provide them with a quality education.
I believe injecting quality in education systems, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the world’s largest challenges today in the fight against poverty.
Tanzania, like other nations, has made big strides towards achieving universal primary education, in order to meet the Millenium Development Goal’s 2015 deadline. But like the majority of countries struggling to improve their public education systems, quantity has not yet been accompanied by quality.
Here, government schools have as many as 200 children per classroom, and no learning resources other than a blackboard and a few shared textbooks. Besides, corporal punishment is used as a disciplining tool. According to UNICEF, “over 50 percent of girls and boys interviewed reported being punched, kicked or whipped by a teacher.”
In contrast, The School of St. Jude offers 1 teacher to a maximum of 30 students, mentors to help with the teachers’ professional development, computer and art rooms, sports fields, well-stacked libraries, science labs, and free textbooks and school materials. Corporal punishment is absolutely prohibited.
We have recently conducted an informal career preference survey with 100 of our 600 secondary students aged 14 to 19 years old.
Among those who took part in the survey, 42 percent of girls and 31 percent of boys want to either start a business or work in business administration; 22 percent of girls and 11 percent of boys want to become doctors; and 27 percent of boys and 11 percent of girls would like to become engineers.
That makes me go back to the beginning and contradict myself: I do have a gender policy. My policy is dual: level the playing field and provide both girls and boys with a quality education.
For the competition, students were required to write an essay of up to 1,000 words about the topic: “How can governments, businesses, non-profits, individuals and the youth collaborate to maximize Africa’s youth potential for the continent’s development and prosperity?” Here’s Wenseslaus’ essay:
In Africa there is a very large number of youth that has even exceeded other age groups. A youth age rank from 15- 27 years age. Around 43% of Africans are youth with the potential to bring development to this continent. Potential is the ability of prosperity that is within an individual to do something much better for development purposes.
“The world is on the cusp of entering a new reality in which human potential itself will become the major agent of economic growth,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, CEO and President of Manpower Group, “Entering human age”, 2011.
Government is the group of people responsible for their citizens in the sense of leadership and law maintenance. The non-governmental organizations are organizations that do not depend on government support to run their activities. Businesses deal with provision of goods and services to consumers at the time of need while individuals are independent people. All these groups and individuals can come together to maximize the potential of African youth in different ways.
Firstly, by providing quality education and vocational skills. This can be done through construction of schools. Individuals may assist in learning institutions and even find scholarship opportunities for youth. Due to the fact that many Africans are not educated and those who are educated have low quality education, there is a need for these groups including individuals to assist in quality education for youth.
For those who are not qualified academically, there should be vocational skills training that could help them get qualifications. There are about 133 million young people, 50% of whom are illiterate. If this number is reduced, we could count on a big development step for Africa. For example, an educated person can control a business well and later the profit is used for future development by paying tax to government.
Fruits of education cannot be seen in a short time. It takes some years to reap what you sow.
There must be greater investment in science and technology. When governments, non-profit organisations, businesses and individuals join forces in science and technology we expect to enhance development in our continent. Also through empowering women to study science subjects. This would increase the number of students and graduates.
There are so many youth in Africa who have the potential to do well in science and technology. Much concentration can be put in this sector since it is important that we consider the world’s fast moving technology. Many inventions, ideas, and discoveries have come from America, Asia and Australia but very few come from Africa. This shows we are behind in technology. If we invest we will one day end up developing in line with the Europeans and others.
Moreover, there is a need to create more employment opportunities. Employment makes a person self-reliant since they have a source of income. It should not just be spoken about but implemented and jobs should only go to qualified people so businesses can prosper. Uneducated persons can make a business decline as a factor of not having enough knowledge. Through employment, people will be able to pay taxes to their governments which will help in construction of social services like schools, roads and hospitals.
We have to start trusting youth and give them a chance to show their worth. If you hire a youth to control your business, I would assure you of a great success rather than anyone else, particularly if it is not their homeland. An African has a true love for their land compared to anyone else from abroad. I believe Africans can do better things, once given a chance.
Unemployment rate in Africa
|
Year |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
% |
26.7 |
25.5 |
22.5 |
22.9 |
23.9 |
24.9 |
24.9 |
22.7 |
Nevertheless, rendering of resources such as books and equipment to youth is another important factor. These can help youth to accomplish their dreams. These tools can include learning materials in the education sector, provision of quality machines will make the production more effective and lead to prosperity.
Equipment, resources and tools may be offered by different methods like loans. Capital to start a business can be provided and interest be paid in return. This will make youth be more serious about their work knowing that they have something in return rather than just providing equipment for free without any consideration. For example youth who use computers to study have a higher ability for understanding compared to those who study without. Students who are exposed to resources perform much better than those without.
Furthermore, giving out reasonable loans can build the spirit of entrepreneurship in youth. Not only in business but also loans for study costs. There are some wealthy individuals like Dangote from Nigeria who are wealthy enough to provide loans to youth in order to maximize their potential. According to the loans rules they have strict conditions for one to obtain a loan. The government and banks should try to make the conditions lighter so we have a larger number of youth taking loans.
For example, people need fixed assets to get a loan and many youth come from poor families. They may not have assets but they have the potential to do something to get out of that poverty. Hard conditions limit the number of youth putting effort into development and as a result hinders development overall.
In conclusion, the main thing needed is to main and bring development to African youth is teamwork and cooperation. These are the keys to a successful life.
Though there are various challenges that are facing African youth such as poor infrastructure, lack of technology, poor administrative leadership and lack of skills, I still believe that one day Africa will be a place of another world. Changes are possible with commitment to oneself. If we have opportunities, let’s make good use of it. The little knowledge we have, let’s use it to bring greater change and reduce poverty.
Let’s make Africa a home for other continents.
