Each year St Jude’s begins the long, difficult but very important task of choosing its newest Grade 1 class. This year, we did things a little differently, inviting the top 10 students from every local government school to come and sit our entrance test. 

Gemma said, “This change will better allow us to offer the most deserving students and families the chance at a St Jude’s education and while I wish we could offer every student in Arusha the chance of a scholarship, this just isn’t possible. We felt this change made the whole process fairer.” 

The nearly 1,000 students who were invited began to arrive bright and early, armed with their invitation letters, pencils and a determination to succeed. The students first sat a reading test, with those who passed moving onto a written test. The successful students then underwent a documents check to ensure they meet our age and other entry requirements. 

Of the nearly 1,000 students who tried only 117 passed this first stage. Those who passed will now undergo our strict poverty assessment. Organised by our Community Relations team, this stage of the process allows us to ensure that every St Jude’s scholarship is gifted to a student whose life will change the most.

We can’t wait to introduce you to the deserving new students early next year when they begin at St Jude’s!

Want to help St Jude's give these students the education they deserve? Donate to Learning Resources today! 

From cow dung to insect repellent, industrial waste to bio-gas and plastic bags to building materials; St Jude’s students are applying their first rate scientific education, turning Tanzanian trash into sustainable treasures.

Secondary Headmaster, Nestory Msoffe, was beaming with pride as he inspected over 50 exhibitions from St Jude's students and invited local schools, at the 6th annual St Jude’s Science Day.   

“Instead of being content in their circumstances, Science Day gives our students motivation and tools to look for solutions to community challenges and use the resources available to innovate for a better future for our nation,” Mr Msoffe said.

Here's a few examples from the day:

Making plastic fantastic! 

Edgar in Form 3 has been working on his Plastic Recycling project since 2014. He was motivated by the challenges of affordable, durable housing in Tanzania as well as environmental concerns.   

“Two years ago, I was in Dar es Salaam and there were terrible floods, most of the people’s houses were mud so they were swept away. They made mud houses because they didn’t have money to construct strong houses. 

“Tanzania produces 8 billion plastic bags a year, they end up in the rivers so animals get choked and the bags don’t decompose. You can’t say, ‘stop using plastic bags’, because people have very low income and plastic is cheapest.

“Recycling them is the only way to reduce pollution,” he said. 

Edgar’s innovation comprises a custom-made metal burner in which he melts plastic bags and combines them with a few other 'secret ingredients' before transferring the mixture into handmade molds to make roof tiles, paving tiles and bricks. 

“Tanzania doesn’t produce any roof tiles, most of them are imported from South Africa.  If you could recycle plastic bags to make roof tiles, bricks and paving, you could create a whole industry that will give employment to the youth and contribute to development,” Edgar said. 

The tenacious teen is still innovating, not content with a first place prize he is looking for materials to incorporate a carbon capture mechanism, of his own design, into the melting machine.    

Edgar is also looking to bio-gas options to replace his natural gas burners. 

Waste not want not! 

Clara, also in Form 3, took out the prestigious Chairman’s Award for her innovation in sustainable energy sources. 

With help from her friends and staff supervisor, Mr Amani, the aspiring medical doctor produced bio-gas using cow dung, bacteria, potassium hydroxide, a handful of buckets and pipes, and some cement for sealing. 

“Many gases are produced from the decomposition of cow dung using saprophytic bacteria, the main product is methane, which can be very useful,” Clara said.  

“When the gases are combusted, they produce bio-gas and can be connected to a gas cylinder which you can use for heating and cooking purposes and can be compressed to produce electricity.

“By using agricultural waste, municipal waste, green waste, sewage and animal waste to make bio-gas, we can make heating and electricity more available, we can lower pollution and deforestation in our environment and save money,” Clara said. 

Household Heroes!

Herbal insect repellent made by Juma, Martin and Kilimba (Form 3) out of cow dung and pine needles. When it is burned it can last for many hours and is much cleaner and cheaper than mosquito coils. 

“Mosquito coils are not good for you in small spaces, they are like smoking 137 cigarettes,” Kilimba said.  

Organic disinfectant using rice, water and fermented milk bacteria, Aneth and Sesilia (Form 3) produced a low-cost, effective disinfectant with applications as varied as unblocking drains, decomposing waste and treating livestock for disease.   

"The mixture must be activated with sugar and with the right ratio of molasses to disinfectant; it can be stored for up to 3 years," Aneth said.

Shoe polish – charcoal, water and glycerin combined to make a nifty, low-cost shoe polish. This entry was submitted by Shepherds School, one of the eight local schools who participated in the day.

Crowd Favourites! 

Quadcopter Anti-poaching System - The Kilimanjaro International Institute for Telecommunications exhibited a drone, programmed to monitor national parks and alert authorities to the presence of poachers.

"Thirty elephants are killed in Tanzania’s national parks every week, we need to put an end to this," KIIT staff representative, Lui J Ayo said. 

Sensor walking stick - Arusha Technical College displayed a walking stick that vibrates when there is a dip in the ground ahead and beeps when there is an obstacle. Students took turns testing it out all afternoon.  

"There are many blind people who need full time assistance, with a tool like this, they will be made much more independent and their helper will be freed up to work and bring in some money," ATC student Samoni said.

When you support St Jude’s, you aren’t just providing free education to the poorest and brightest students in Arusha. You’re supporting almost 300 talented, dedicated staff members committed to fighting poverty in their community.

In our Staff Spotlight series you get the chance to meet these impressive members of the St Jude’s family.

Meet Sebastian – One of our dedicated Social Studies teachers for our upper primary students (History, Geography and Civics) and serving as our Academic Master for Upper Primary. In the Tanzanian curriculum Social Studies covers Geography, History and Civics. Mr Sebastian is also sharing what he has learnt at St Jude’s with local government schools, helping St Jude’s continue to have a wider impact in our community.

In a rare moment of pause during his busy daily schedule, Mr Sebastian Gitbang catches himself by surprise when he thinks about the time that has passed since started at The School of St Jude in 2006.

"It’s almost been 10 years, that’s a long time actually when I think about it,” he says.

“When I joined the school it was not as big as it is now, I feel as if I have grown up with the school.”

It has been a career that Mr Sebastian could not have predicted when he was hired and asked which classes he would like to teach.

“My first priority was to teach Maths, my second was Science and third was Social Studies. But when I started, I had the chance to join the Social Studies department and I was also given the chance to be the Head of Department. So I took the position, and from then until now I have been teaching Social Studies”.

It is a decision Mr Sebastian has been happy with ever since.

“Social Studies is about life,” he explains.

“It is all about living, human beings and the environment, which is all around us. It helps give our students good and basic skills for their lives. These are the subjects that if you teach the students you are teaching them practical skills. They learn how to live a good life and about things that are important.”

Coming up to nearly a decade at the school, Mr Sebastian is able to think about the small things that have had a lasting impact on the school.

“When I started I was given the chance to come up with new things, like the drumming you see around the school at assembly for the national anthem and other school songs,” he says.

Hundreds of international visitors enter our school gates each year and the lively drumming at assemblies is always one of the highlights.

Mr Sebastian is also having an impact outside of St Jude’s. He has been involved in a community program that offers teacher mentoring and training to local government schools.

“St Jude’s has made me who I am, so I thought I should share the knowledge and the skills I got at St Jude’s with my fellow Tanzanian teachers because they don’t learn what we do here”. 

At St Jude’s, we believe that we should facilitate and assist improvements in teaching and learning in Tanzania. In fact this is our eighth strategic goal. Mr Sebastian is helping us achieve this and has been having success, “for the past five years the performance of the Government Schools has improved, compared to the way it was before”.

Mr Sebastian is inspired by Gemma and the St Jude’s community and is proud to have been part of the team and the wider impact on the community. “St Jude’s was just a dream of one person, Gemma, but look at the students who are here. Where would they be if not for her dream? Or the staff where would they be, if not for that dream. It started as just a dream but you can see what an impact it has made and how much our society has benefited”.

Want to help St Jude’s have qualified, passionate teachers like Mr Sebastian? Donate to teaching today!

Graduate, teacher and future doctor, Dorice is wrapping up her Community Service Year as the sole biology teacher at Sombetini Secondary School.

In 2016, this young leader charmed Australians on tour with Gemma and captured the hearts of her students with her grace and resilience. 

We caught up with Dorice to hear about her experience as a teacher.

How are you feeling now that your Community Service Year is coming to an end?

In some ways I feel really good, really excited because I know I am soon going to start another journey in my life. In other ways I feel very sad because of my students. I will really miss them! As you know there is a shortage of teachers and when I leave I don’t know if they are going to have another biology teacher.

What has been the most challenging part of your job?

There is a very big difference, a very huge difference between government school and my education. At St Jude’s we have small classes, few students and enough teachers. We have electricity in classes, computers, and food at every mealtime. Here it is different, the classes have no electricity, and there are too many students – the books are also hard to get.

Most of the students when I came for the first time – they never knew English, so it was very hard. You know biology, it is all in English. Teaching them in English and then translating in Swahili, it was a very difficult thing. The differences now with my students learning in English is huge. Most of them are putting their hands up and speaking so much English.

Did you think you could master all this, at the beginning?

For the first time, I was scared. I went home the first day, I told my parents, “I don’t think I can do it”, because it is very hard to be in front of a class of 60 students. My parents they were advising me and giving me hope saying “you can do it”. So I said “OK, I will have to do it and do it will all my heart because I chose it and I want to help these students”. Now I feel so good. I feel so proud of myself!

How do you think this year has changed you as a person?

Actually I feel like I am really grown up now because of dealing with different types of students, different personalities, and other teachers who are much older than me. Now I know I can face different situations and I can make tough decisions. So I feel like I have changed a lot.

I feel I can live and change to any kind of environment. Life in government schools is very hard but I can do it. For example, I can now stay for a long time without eating and still perform my responsibilities, which is a good thing actually. 

How do your students feel about you leaving for university?

They say how much they will miss me because the way I live with them and treat them is more like a big sister. It’s different with the other teachers. When my students have problems they come and tell me and if I am capable I will always help them. They say when I leave they don’t know how they are going to find some answers in their lives, especially girls, they are more comfortable talking to me.

What is your proudest accomplishment as a teacher?

Now I can see most of my students have a real goal in their life. Last year when I came, I asked my class, “who wants to be doctors?” They were all quiet. “Who wants to be teachers?” They were all quiet. They didn’t understand themselves, what they wanted, or how they could think about their future. 

The way I talked to them and advised them over this year I think is why they come to me and tell me, “in university I want to study this” or “in VETA college I want to study this”. So I feel like somehow they have seen what is going on in their lives and how they can have some power in that through education. 

You may remember Vivian from our Staff Spotlight last month. 

The outstanding role model is perfectly placed as a coordinator in our Beyond St Jude’s team. Her St Jude’s duties include supporting graduates through their Community Service Year, offering career guidance and assisting with university, loan and scholarship applications.

Vivian has recently returned from the United States where she was presenting on the accomplishments of our school and students to cement St Jude’s participation in the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at African Leadership Academy.

The trip was a huge success!

“We are so excited, this partnership opens up a whole world of opportunities for our graduates, quite literally,” Vivian said.

Joining the Program means that, every year, up to five fully funded scholarships are available to our most impressive students at partner universities all over the world!

On her tour de force, Vivian had the chance to visit some of these universities that our graduates will be eligible for as part of the program.

“The universities I visited in the United States were amazing. It took me over an hour and a half to finish a campus tour. I can’t imagine what it will be like for our students to set foot on campuses in Mauritius, Germany, Canada, Kenya or Zimbabwe!”

“Did you know, Hillary Clinton went to Wellesley University? I visited there as well as Trinity College and Marist College – beautiful universities. Who knows one of our graduates may be the first female President of Tanzania!” 

At all these venues she made connections, shared St Jude’s story and asked a million questions for our students.

“I am so excited for our hardworking applicants; scholars who are accepted into the program will have the full cost of their university education covered; from textbooks, a laptop and a mobile phone, to visas and flights, including trips home for the summer,” Vivian said.

The program also offers ongoing academic, pre-professional and personal support for the participants. This support will continue with professional development from the African Careers Network after graduation from university.

Students who are chosen will have demonstrated academic excellence, strong leadership skills and evidenced the ability to bring their ideas to life.

Like St Jude’s, the MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at African Leadership Academy believes in supporting the future leaders of Tanzania and Africa.

After graduation, the scholarship students will be required to return to Tanzania and share all that they have learnt at universities around the world with their communities.

We are so excited about this partnership and look forward to all that we know our graduates will achieve, thanks in part to the work of Vivian and the Beyond St Jude’s team!

Help St Jude’s continue to offer its students the best opportunities by donating today.

Eunice Mtili was born to teach.

“When I was very young, whenever I would share or explain something, I would give examples and demonstrate, moving my hands, everyone would say, you would make a very good teacher,” Eunice said.  

Through the course of a 21-year teaching career, Mrs Mtili has proven everyone right, channeling her natural talent into educating thoughtful and resilient students who love to learn. 

“I am really sharp, I know I am very fast, and I want everyone to be fast in my classes, I want smart, cheery, quick, happy people,” she said. 

This is an ambitious goal in Tanzania where the government school system is overcrowded and under-resourced. The World Bank reports 23% of government school teachers don’t show up for work on a given day (2012).

St Jude’s offers Eunice the resources and support to be the best teacher she can be.

Since arriving in 2011, Eunice has taken full advantage of the small class sizes and extended curriculum which lends itself to vibrant demonstrations and opportunities to “learn by doing”.

She currently teaches social studies at our primary campus.

“The first thing I do to introduce social studies is explain to students why I am teaching them these things, social studies is ultimately preparing them to become good leaders.”

“So in geography, I say, how will you become a leader if you don’t know your area, its resources and geographical features?

“In civics, as we expect leaders to conduct development, I say, 'how would you use the features and natural resources of your areas for development?'. We also role play elections and speeches."

“In history, we learn about independence and why we are living like this. So I show them examples of good leaders and the ones who failed.”

Eunice is helping St Jude’s create good leaders and, after five years, she is starting to see the fruits of her labour.

“I have many students at St Jude’s who come back to me and tell me how much they appreciate, and how often they think of my classes; they say they were really unique,” she said.

“The ones who are in Form 2, they are all in leadership positions now!” 

St Jude’s is also helping Eunice grow her own leadership and teaching skills.

The magnificent Mrs Mtili was recently selected by a panel of her peers to participate in a professional development partnership in the United States.

Later this year, she will engage in educational workshops, mentoring and training with teachers from Louisville Collegiate, which has a long running relationship with St Jude's. 

Eunice says she is hoping to come back from the States as the best teacher she can possibly be.

“With new skills, new knowledge and better understanding of how children learn, so that I can teach best.”