From our student body to our campus grounds, progress is flourishing at St Jude’s.

Seven acres of our beautiful Usa River campus is currently becoming more fruitful thanks to our farm project.

“We started this project to produce quality fruit and vegetables for all students,” farm manager Stephen Uswege, who has been helming the operation since its inception about five months ago, said.

“The goal is to produce enough vegetables for all three St Jude’s campuses.”

With an irrigated area for vegetables, designated room for rows of fruit trees, two greenhouses (one for seedlings, the other for tomato and capsicum), plenty of fertile soil and a sunny sky, the project is set for success. 

Secondary students, who will become more involved when it comes time to harvest, have enjoyed valuable lessons about agriculture via the farm (or ‘shamba’ in Swahili).

“I have learned many things from this farm project so far, with one of those being the importance of the greenhouse,” secondary student Cuthbert said.

“The greenhouse (environment) helps nourish the plants and gives the seedlings a green, healthy colour. It helps control the pests that would (otherwise) destroy the plant and take the nutrients, leaving not very good food for us to eat.”

Agriculture is Tanzania’s primary industry, as well as being a ‘National Priority’ degree as determined by the Tanzanian Government. It contributes almost 30% of the country’s GDP, and in 2014 employed 67% of the population*.

Mr Uswege has a background with similar farms and expects our yield to include sukuma wiki (a collared green), cabbage, carrot, onion, chili, watermelon, avocado, mango, cucumber, capsicum, guava, banana, passionfruit and papaya.

The vegetable garden’s drip irrigation includes polythene tunnels to protect soft vegetables, and fertilizer to balance minerals in the soil.

“The drip irrigation will help the plants get water throughout the year,” Smith student Beatrice said.

“It should not be difficult for us to wait until the rains so we can cultivate more crops as we need.”  

The finished product of this tremendous, tasty project will soon fill the bellies of students like Beautrice and Cuthbert!

Help us accomplish big, exciting projects like the shamba by donating to our Area of Greatest Need.

* www.tanzaniainvest.com/agriculture 

Six secondary students have been awarded for their water-wise awareness by the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Last year, secondary students Jackson, Kelvin and Nickson successfully employed their artistic skills to demonstrate “Why water is a precious resource in Southern Africa beyond 2015”.

Sixteen-year-old Jackson used warm colours and realistic representations to take out the top spot in Tanzania, 17-year-old Kelvin’s bright and imaginative effort was awarded second and sixteen-year-old Nickson’s well thought-out and nicely captured entry rounded out the national top 3 illustration category.  

And there was more good news. 

Wordsmiths Jesca (18 years old, second place), 17-year-old Vedastor (third place) and 15-year-old Edgar (fourth place) were also awarded top places in the competition’s national essay writing category.

They were up against youths 15 to 18 years from schools, tertiary institutions, NGOs, or associates across Africa, with the competition jointly organized by the Global Water Partnership Southern Africa (GWPSA) and SADC.

“The competition encourages youth to have a closer look at the water situation in their countries and to reflect on what “effective water management” means to them,” a competition spokesman said.

“It’s deigned to motivate young people to think about a vision for water post 2015 that would meet the needs of their countries and the region. By entering, participants will learn and share about effective water management in their countries and region and how they can play a role in its protection.”

Congratulations Jackson, Kelvin, Nickson, Jesca, Vedastor and Edgar!

Throughout his 13 years at St Jude’s, there isn’t a profession Erick hasn’t considered mastering.

He has been a budding football star, an intrepid safari guide, a would-be teacher, and a future business tycoon. No one has ever doubted that he could master any of those careers.

Erick is a force of nature – that much has been clear from the very beginning.

“He was always at the front of class, always asking questions,” remembers Angela Bailey, St Jude’s inaugural headmistress when Erick enrolled in 2003.

“It was obvious from the very beginning that he was a really smart and determined boy.”

Angela has returned to run the Beyond St Jude’s program and has witnessed that smart and determined boy develop into an equally smart and determined young man.

Now a UN Ambassador and six weeks from his secondary school graduation, Erick has become one of St Jude’s top students.

Despite coming from a poor family and a home that didn’t have running water or electricity, Erick has travelled around Africa and rubbed shoulders with some of the continent’s top academics.

He has stayed true to his roots and has developed into a community-focused entrepreneur by founding Africamoja youth society and becoming Afroavo CEO.

Most recently he was invited to speak to his fellow classmates at Rotaract’s inaugural meeting where he gave advice on the “golden opportunities” networking can bring, and encouraged Rotaract and Interact members to seize them.

“It’s about something you can do to create value in your community,” Erick said. “It should not be for your own benefit, but for the benefit of others.”

Erick’s shaping up to be an impressive leader - just what the free high-quality education at St Jude’s is all about.

Help us educate more leaders of the future by sponsoring or donating to St Jude’s.

The joy of a good book is out of reach for many people in Tanzania but more than 1,800 of the country’s poorest and brightest students are embracing a world of knowledge thanks to St Jude’s generous supporters.

St Jude’s secondary library is stacked with more than 20,000 donated books alone, and our eager students are embracing their ticket into the world of literature.

“For academic and recreation, everything I need to learn, I come to the library,” secondary student Joyce said. She added that her favourite book is The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks because it deals with issues like love and relationships.

“The library’s main purpose is for study, and reading storybooks and other interesting books,” secondary student Allen, who most looks forward to reading the ongoing adventures of Tin Tin, said. “There are fiction and non-fiction books and it is a good resource for us.”

Apart from most of our text books, the majority of our reading material has come from years of generous donations. Most recently, St Joseph’s College in Australia donated more than 100 books when they came to visit, and the Royal Geographical Society of Queensland shipped a welcome 216 National Geographic magazines.

“Those library books – fiction, non-fiction and text books - help the students to understand English well,” upper primary library teacher Melami said.

We make the most of overflow of English donated books, by donating them to under-resourced and appreciative government schools.

Vacant seats are rare to come across during school hours in the library, as both primary and secondary branches are buzzing with individual, group and class studies.

They come to take advantage of learning materials like text books, to use the computers or simply for a quiet place to study.

“Our resources are the best compared to others within the region. The library is very important to students and teachers,” library teacher Elias said.

UNESCO designated this Saturday, April 23, as the international date to celebrate literature by encouraging everyone, especially youths, “to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity”.

There’s no better day to thank everyone who has contributed to educating our students since the beginning of St Jude’s by donating these resources!

Donate to Learning Resources and provide even more opportunity for our young high achievers!

Most students bend the rules to get the answers; Simon had to bend the rules just to get the questions.

Sitting in an overcrowded government school classroom, Simon could not get close enough to read the board and his teachers did not notice he had a vision problem.

The determined young scholar came up with ‘sneaky ways’ to make sure he didn’t fall behind.

“I did not ask for an answer but I had to ask ‘what’s the question?’. In class exercises I could not see on the board, but with the exams I could have the questions near,” he explained.

“When I was in public school, I was first in exams but I was last when it came to class exercises.”

Simon said the difference between his results would make teachers suspicious, and he did not want to think about what life would be like if he had not been enrolled at St Jude’s.

“If I failed (at school), I wouldn’t be here in Form 5. If I wasn’t here in Form 5, I wouldn’t be Rotaract Vice-President and I wouldn’t be the Discipline Prefect,” he said.

“Glasses have made a very big difference – it’s a very small thing that can make a very big difference. They have allowed me to participate in a lot of stuff, and work towards achieving my goals.”

Simon said the attitude at St Jude’s also improved his confidence.

“When I came to St Jude’s I felt freedom,” he said.

“It was a different system – it was more accommodating. If I couldn’t see a question, I go for it, I would go to the front (of class) to check on the board.

“My teachers realised, and here they were friendly and concerned and did something about it. They questioned why it was happening.”

Once the teachers noticed a problem with Simon’s sight he was referred to the Medical Check Team, a group of international doctors who volunteer at St Jude’s each year.

The Medical Check Team has had a long history at St Jude’s, following up concerns raised by teachers and providing the expertise needed to diagnose conditions.

In March, the 2016 team of 15 medical professionals spent two weeks at St Jude’s to ensure our students were healthy.

Simon was among a group of 12 students with vision problems who the team members took to an optometrist in town. Additional requirements for follow-up equipment or treatment for the students is usually arranged through their parents.

This year marked the first time members of the Medical Check Team provided mentorship to St Jude’s graduates who are interested in becoming doctors.

See the important work the Medical Check Team are doing at St Jude’s in this video. Find out how you can contribute here.

The national sport enjoyed a run across St Jude’s grounds this month, with the Northern Tanzania Athletic Association Competition (NTAA) held at our Usa River secondary campus.

Under 14 boys and girls teams from Braeburn, Orkeeswa, Kennedy House, St Constantine’s and ISM Moshi and ISM Arusha converged on a sunny Saturday for some healthy competition.

In other sport news, our newly-formed rugby team played against Orkeeswa Secondary School last month during their sports day. While they didn’t win, their performance was promising enough to get the wheels in motion for us to enter into the Rugby NTAA competition by next month.