Not many secondary students list their favourite subjects as Biology and Chemistry, but St Jude’s student Irene isn’t your typical secondary student.
In fact, she’s far from it. 

This empowered 18-year-old, who one day envisions becoming a doctor, is particularly remarkable for founding her own community organisation, called Feminine Power Association.

“(It’s) a girls club, where we visit different villages and help people who need support like orphans and elders,” Irene said. 

Alongside offering help to those who need it most, the girls also “teach people about human rights and responsibilities, which will have a positive impact on those who most need it”.

“I have learnt much while studying about human rights at St Jude’s, and the responsibilities that we have to the less privileged in society,” Irene explained.

“I was inspired to start the club because of my background, the places I’ve lived and my family and community”. 

The enthusiastic Form 4 student, who started at St Jude’s in 2007 in Standard 2 (Grade 2), is excelling both in the classroom and in her community. 

Irene’s Civics teacher, Mr Kashowa, helped encourage her decision to start Feminine Power Association. After teaching her for the past two years, he described her as a “bright, hardworking and self-motivated student”.

“She has been doing excellently, not only in Civics but in many other subjects,” he said.

With plans to become a doctor so she can “help the many people who get sick and injured and have a positive impact on her community,” this inspiring student is already helping to make a difference.

We are not the only ones who have been impressed with Irene’s hard work and dedication. Following in the footsteps of Liston and Daniel, two other St Jude’s high-achievers, Irene has been granted a scholarship to the African Leadership Academy (ALA), to complete a two-year pre-university program with some of the best scholars on the continent.

Irene believes she would not have had the opportunity without St Jude’s.

“Thanks to St Jude’s I’ve learned English, about people who are less privileged in societies and my responsibility to help them,” she said.

“The school has prepared me to be the best student and it is thanks to them that I will succeed.”

She also wanted to express gratitude to her sponsors, the school management, the teachers and the St Jude’s community at large. 

“It’s because of them that I am who I am today, they have contributed to my success, and they have changed me,” she explained. “I wouldn’t be the person I am today without them.”

We wish Irene the very best as she embarks on this new journey and proudly look forward to seeing her flourish as a community-focused leader.

Empower more of our students with a high-quality education – donate today!

After earning an international scholarship for his hard work at St Jude's, Daniel returned recently to mentor his former classmates in entrepreneurship.

The mature, more confident 20-year-old took to the front of the classroom to run the second BUILD in a Box program offered at St Jude’s by former students. BUILD stands for ‘Believe, Understand, Invest, Listen and Deliver’.

Daniel says he really enjoys teaching with BUILD in a Box because it provides a much needed set of tools for young people.

“We teach them how to start a business, how to pitch to investors and how to successfully run a business,” he said. “We condense what we learn at the academy into this two-day program.” 

BUILD allows current students to teach youth entrepreneurship, which is seen as a way of finding youth-led solutions to local problems and fighting unemployment.Daniel was particularly impressed with one of the St Jude’s groups who had plans to develop a mobile education tool that also offered access via social media.

“If they manage to create it, it would be very cheap to create and could have a big impact,” he said.

Daniel is living proof of the impact you can make when you provide a high-quality education to the poorest and brightest students.

He was selected for a St Jude's scholarship because of his commitment to school and his parents' inability to pay for his education. 

After excelling at St Jude's, Daniel earned an international scholarship and plans to use his education to give back to his community.

Daniel plans to study economics in either the United States or Canada, he wants to “concentrate a lot on business and economic studies and mathematics.” 

The dynamic future leader is well on his way to becoming an economics wiz, undertaking an internship this summer at Equity Bank in Dar es Salaam. 

The internship is just the next exciting step for a passionate economist who started a microfinance program in his village which helped 30 women raise money to get their children through school and pay for their homes.

"What really sets St Jude's apart is that it gives you the foundation to succeed in your goals," Daniel says.

"I meet students from different schools all around Africa and when I tell them about my story and St Jude's they are really impressed."

Our 2015 graduates who have been doing their community service through Beyond St Jude's have just completed applications for university and are expected to begin courses later this year.

Their future looks bright. Of last year's graduates who decided they did not need ongoing financial support and applied for university on their own, 100% were successful!

To help St Jude’s continue providing a high-quality education to future leaders sponsor a student today! 

Two years was all it took.

Before he was accepted into St Jude’ as a Form 5 student in 2013, most of Emmanuel’s education had been at a government school.

Once he graduated last year, that experience became a driving force in his decision to spend the second half of his Community Service Year helping share his high-quality education with other students in the Arusha community.

“I was feeling worried about it. As a student who had never even been to university, and going there as a teacher, it was a challenge. Now it motivates me and I feel like I can carry myself like other teachers,” Emmanuel said, nearing the end of his six-month teaching stint at Elerai Secondary School.

Emmanuel had initially chosen to work at St Jude’s boarding house for his CSY, but as the half-way mark neared he changed to volunteer at a government school.

“There is a lot to do at government school because of the lack of teachers. So I am now helping students there, and they’re really enjoying having us (CSY teachers),” the 24-year-old Chemistry teacher said.

“I know how those students are, I know the government school environment, so I knew the techniques I would be able to use so that they would understand.

“I like Chemistry, and there was a shortage of teachers in Chemistry there. I am enjoying teaching very much, and I love those students. I can’t imagine the moment I’ll be going (for university), I think most of those students will cry.”

Emmanuel, who is awaiting news of his acceptance into an Agricultural Economics degree at Sokoine University of Agriculture in eastern Tanzania, wants to continue making a valuable impact in Tanzania as the industry “is the backbone of our economy”.

Until then, he explained that a lack of food, chalk and class facilities such as chairs has increased the challenge of teaching.

“The government has decided to provide free education at government schools, but it has not been very practical because they’re not able to provide the facilities,” Emmanuel said.

“The main problem is not being fed at school – they are there from 8am to 3.30pm without having food, so their concentration is a little bit slow. It’s a real challenge. We have to work extra hard so that we can help them understand what we are teaching.”

St Judes’ CSY program is being hailed by many local educators as a desperately-needed solution to Tanzania’s education issues.

“Our school has a big problem with a shortage of Science and Business teachers, so it was a miracle to have our four student teachers from St Jude’s,” Suye Secondary School principal, Sarah Milunga, said.

Four St Jude’s CSY students taught at Suye, the government school in Arusha City: Judica (Commerce and Bookkeeping, Forms 3 and 4); Lubango (Biology, Form 1); Lembris (B Maths, Form 2) and Eliud (Geography, Form 2).

The institute is one of 21 government schools our CSY students have taught at, helping more than 10,000 students with their high-quality educations.

“This is a unique program in our country. These students have shown discipline and hard work in teaching, and all other activities in our school community. They were charming peacemakers who interacted with others easily, they were helpful and friendly to students, and effectively planted educational seeds to students through their positive attitudes, from morning to evening.

“Thanks so much to all students who participated in this wonderful program with compassion. You came to our schools direct from Form 6, without Teachers College, but you did wonders and unforgettable activities in our schools.

“This program helped our school a lot. Thank you very much for introducing it to our generation in education. It is key in the development of Tanzania and a strong weapon in the fight against poverty.”

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.