The lights sparkled, the drinks flowed, and the air buzzed with creativity as St Jude’s Sisia Campus came alive last month for its first-ever Art Exhibition and Gala, designed to spotlight budding artists and support the growth of the Student Art Program. 

Themed Transforming Lives Through Art, the two-part event kicked off with a vibrant family fun day, featuring live painting, food vendors, face painting, sip and paint, and children’s activities. As evening fell, the campus transformed into an elegant outdoor gala, welcoming guests in style to an unforgettable night of live entertainment, a gourmet three-course meal, and an auction of student artworks.

Jane, Experience and Community Programs Senior Manager at The School of St Jude, says the event offered a meaningful way for the local community to engage with the school’s mission while showcasing the Student Art Program’s role in fostering creativity, confidence, and self-expression.

“The Art Exhibition and Gala offered the local community the unique opportunity to interact directly with our students, learn about their artistic journeys, and see the impact of our Student Art Program firsthand,” says Jane.

“For many students, this was their first time exhibiting and selling their work, so it was a huge milestone. Watching them talk about their pieces with guests was incredibly special. These interactions boosted their confidence and helped attendees to understand the stories behind the artworks, and connect on a deeper level.”

Among the young talent featured was Denis, a Form 4 graduate who exhibited a total of 24 pieces, three of which were sold during the event. He also assisted with the exhibition setup, learning how to hang pieces, position easels, and curate a professional display - an invaluable experience for an aspiring professional artist.

“I’ve been sketching since primary school. But when I started Form 1, that’s when St Jude’s launched the Student Art Program. That’s when I got to try acrylics and paint on canvas. It really changed everything for me,” shares Denis. 

“I am happy that people appreciate my work. My dream is to have my own gallery and studio one day, so I also loved seeing the event come together from behind-the-scenes.”

Each student receives a 10% commission from their original artwork sale, with the remaining 90% reinvested back into the Student Art Program to provide quality materials, resources, and creative opportunities. As for Denis, he used part of his earnings to purchase new art supplies, put some away in savings, and shared the remainder with his family.

“When I’m doing art, I feel like I’m in another universe. Being able to share my work with others and knowing they love it is a very good feeling. I hope to sell more pieces in the future,” he adds.

Thanks to the event’s success, Jane is confident it will open the door for many more art exhibitions in the future.

“Events like this play a big part in supporting and developing the skills of our student artists, while giving supporters the opportunity to have a little piece of St Jude’s in their own home,” says Jane.

“We’re excited to keep creating opportunities where our students can grow, express themselves, and shine, and with so much talent at St Jude’s, we’re just getting started.”

St Jude's has always been a place where young minds are nurtured and bold ideas are born. However, turning a passion into a sustainable business is no easy task - it requires practical skills, mentorship, and the right kind of support. To help bridge this gap, the school recently launched the Next Frontier Incubator and Small Grants Program, designed to help alumni transform their entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

The 20-week program, which kicked off in January, offers 25 alumni the opportunity to develop essential business skills through expert mentorship, tailored resources, and hands-on training in critical areas such as business planning, financial management, goal-setting, and legal compliance.

Program Specialist Neema explained that the initiative was established to help alumni with innovative business ideas transform them into successful ventures and build a strong foundation for long-term growth.

“We found that many alumni had incredible ideas but didn't know the next steps. They were caught between creative development and the practical aspects of business management. This program helps bridge that gap by offering the resources needed to turn these ideas into a viable business,” Neema says.

The inaugural group includes ideas from a range of industries, including art, manufacturing, construction, and transport. They each submitted a business proposal detailing their vision, goals, and the challenges their businesses aim to address, which formed the basis of their admission to the program.

“Many of these ideas aim to solve real-world problems and make a positive impact on people and the planet. Some are startups that, despite winning awards, are facing challenges in scaling, while others are still in the early stages of development and getting their ideas off the ground. The cohort meets twice a week for expert-led sessions and assignments to help them refine their goals, develop their mission statements, and map out their next steps,” Neema says.

At the end of the program, the students will pitch their ideas to an external panel of experts who will assess their business models, scalability, and community impact. Successful pitches will receive grant funding up to US$5,000 to support key areas such as product development and marketing.

One alum, Queen, Class of 2021, said she jumped at the opportunity to be part of the program. After studying art and design in Dar es Salaam, she founded The Kids Hub, an art workshop offering creative classes in painting, jewellery making, and digital art for children and young adults in Arusha.

“I've always had a passion for art, and I wanted to create a space where young people could explore their creativity,” says Queen, who has a studio in the centre of Arusha where she runs her classes.

“Art is often overlooked in schools, so I wanted to provide a space where kids could develop their skills, express themselves, and sell their work. We've already held two classes, and the response has been incredible.”

Queen's ultimate goal is to expand The Kids Hub into a larger space where people of all ages can learn and appreciate art - a goal she feels is within reach thanks to the insights gained from the program.

“The Next Frontier Incubator and Small Grants Program has been a real eye-opener. It's hands-on and practical, and the sessions have given me so many tools to improve my business. I've learned how to manage stress, scale my business, and navigate the financial side. It's a complete package that has really set me up for success,” says Queen.

“I'm also learning so much from my fellow participants, as we all exchange advice and insights. My goal is to run regular classes and continue to grow the business, and by the end of this program, I'm confident I'll be able to achieve that.”

In addition to supporting the entrepreneurial endeavours of alumni, St Jude's has also launched a Pre-Incubator Program for current high school students. This extracurricular club serves as a stepping stone into the Next Frontier Incubator and Small Grants Program, offering students the chance to explore entrepreneurship as a potential career path from an early age.

 “The Pre-Incubator Program provides students with the tools and support they need to develop their ideas and prepare for the full incubator program if they wish to pursue it professionally after graduation,” Neema explains.

“By introducing entrepreneurship at the high school level, we're encouraging students to see it as a viable career path, and empowering them to become innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders both within their communities and beyond.”

Before joining St Jude’s, 14-year-old Agripina’s day used to start at the crack of dawn. First, she checks on her elderly grandmother, cleans around the house, and tends to livestock. Afterward, she prepares her younger sister, and the pair would begin the 30-minute walk to school, often arriving early enough for Agripina to squeeze in about an hour of personal study before class.

"I have always maintained a strict daily schedule to balance my studies and chores at home," explains Agripina, one of the new students at St Jude's. "There was hardly enough time in the day to do everything so I had to get creative with my time," she adds.

For example, after school, Agripina stays a few more hours for personal studies and dedicates her free time on weekends to group discussions and additional studies. To make the most of her long commute, she would discuss lessons with schoolmates along the way. Her discipline, consistency, and hard work paid off as Agripina maintained the top position in her class throughout her primary school education.

In Tanzania, primary education is the first seven years of school, from Standard 1 to 7. At the end of Standard 7, students sit for a series of standardised national exams. Those who pass may be eligible to attend government school to continue with secondary education.

"If I made it to secondary school, I’d be the first in my family to do so," says Agripina. "But first, I had to pass the national examinations," she adds.

 Agripina doubled down on her already tight schedule in preparation for her national exams, dedicating every moment of her free time to her studies. She would study by the fire while preparing family dinner, stay up late, and organise a small discussion group with classmates from the same neighbourhood. Her efforts eventually paid off, and Agripina passed her national examinations with remarkable results.

However, passing the Standard 7 national examination doesn't necessarily guarantee a spot in secondary school.

“Passing my Standard 7 exams was only the first step,” explains Agripina. “Next, I had to hope and wait for the government to allocate me to a school. This part is tricky because it’s completely out of my control,” she adds.

In Tanzania, government schools provide the most affordable education; they don’t charge school fees, but parents are expected to contribute to food, transport, stationery, uniforms, and other costs. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough secondary schools in Tanzania to match the growing number of primary school graduates. National data indicates only one secondary school for every four primary schools. It’s not uncommon for students to miss out on secondary education despite passing their exams due to the limited spots/places available.

Furthermore, secondary schools are often located far from students’ homes, making access even more challenging.

“I knew plenty of students, especially girls, who passed their exams but still didn’t make it to secondary school,” recalls Agripina. “It was scary to think that I could potentially end up in the same spot,” she adds.

Luckily for Agripina, she didn’t have to wait for the government's allocation. Her remarkable results caught the attention of St Jude’s, which promptly sent her an invitation to apply for a scholarship. In no time, she was on her way to one of St Jude’s centres to try her luck.

“It was quite an experience. There were so many students with their parents and guardians. St Jude’s took care of everything—transportation, food, and accommodation—since we had to spend the night and start the application process the following morning," she shares.

Agripina went through academic testing and excelled in all of them. Next came a pre-house check and document screening to determine her eligibility for the next steps. The last phase was a home visit by
St Jude’s staff for poverty assessment to determine whether the student’s family meets the school's scholarship criteria. This thorough process ensures that the most deserving students with exceptional academic potential make it through the scholarship program.

Out of over 2,000 students who applied for a scholarship at St Jude’s, Agripina was one of the 194 who eventually made it to the end.

“Joining St Jude’s makes all my hard work worth it,” she reflects. “I’ve only been here a few days, but I already love the school, the teachers, and my fellow students,” she adds happily.

Agripina aspires to become a doctor. Fittingly, she has joined St Jude’s Secondary Girls’ School, which boasts well-equipped science laboratories, excellent sports and academic programs, and a thriving science culture. With her discipline, determination, and access to St Jude’s resources, there’s no doubt she’ll achieve her dreams.

The start of the year is usually a busy time at The School of St Jude. Students are fresh from the holidays and eager to start the new academic year on a high. Yet amid personal ambitions and academic goals, one thing is important to keep in mind.  

“A successful academic year requires healthy students,” says Jane, the leader of the Health Check team at St Jude’s. In Australia, Jane is a busy physiotherapist and brings these specialist skills to the team.

This February, Jane arrived as part of a team of 21 international and local health care professionals to conduct health checks on St Jude’s students. Under Jane’s leadership, this team assessed 1,800 primary and secondary school students, running tests and providing recommendations. 

“A health check consists of a variety of tests that enable us to assess students’ overall health in relation to academic capabilities,” says Jane. “The tests include malnutrition, vision and hearing, height and weight, and many others. We also have a well-being team that works closely with staff to develop strategies that improve students’ well-being such as mental health, counselling, and other well-being issues,” she adds. 

Based on the tests, Jane and her team make recommendations on any actions that should be taken to improve a students’ health, and make referrals for any health issues that should followed up on by the school and the students’ families at local hospitals. Recommendations may involve simple alterations such as a diet change and reading glasses, to hospital referrals for more serious issues. 

The health checks typically happen once every year, usually around February. Jane joined the program for the first time in 2015 and has since taken a leadership role. 

“This year’s health check is much busier than the previous ones,” reflects Jane. “Due to travel restrictions, we couldn’t organise health checks in the previous two years. This year, we had an astounding 700 new students at the school who had never done a full health check before! So, we had to be very thorough with our assessments,” she explains. 

Along with Jane is Dr Philip, a General Practitioner from Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Like Jane, Dr Philip is a regular health check volunteer since joining the health check program in 2017. 

“I first heard about St Jude’s from Gemma at an event in Armidale,” Dr Philip recalls. “When I heard of the opportunity to volunteer in a medical capacity, I quickly jumped aboard and have enjoyed it ever since,” he adds with a smile.

Dr Philip believes academic excellence is best achieved when students are in their best physical, mental, and emotional health. Being a regular volunteer of the Health Check team grants him the opportunity to optimise students’ academic excellence in a special way.

“Having been on the team for several years now,” says Dr Philip, “students would usually remember me, and I would recognise some familiar faces every time. The best part of my experience is to see the joy in students when we tell them they are fine and healthy,” he adds. 

Although the Health Check team has historically consisted of a diverse team of international volunteers, this year saw a pleasant surprise. For the first time, a St Jude’s alum, Dr Hosiana, joined this special team. 

“I had just completed my doctoral internship year when I saw an advert from St Jude’s asking medical professionals to volunteer for the health checks,” recalls Dr Hosiana, a St Jude’s alum who graduated from secondary school in 2015 after 13 years at the school and is now a practising doctor. “I naturally applied,” she adds excitedly. 

Hosiana’s dreams of becoming a doctor stemmed from her experiences as a child. She grew up in a small village with a single health officer who was also looking after other nearby villages. Desperate to help, she resolved to study hard and become a doctor herself.

“My hard work paid off and I was awarded a scholarship to St Jude’s!” recalls Hosiana. “Things only got better after that, the plenty of resources and teachers at the school only reinforced my ambition,” she adds. 

Hosiana looks back on the health checks as one of many things at St Jude’s that reinforced her ambition to study medicine. 

“I would usually have plenty of questions for the doctors,” recalls Dr Hosiana with a smile. “This time I also met some curious students with ambitions of being a doctor. They reminded me so much of myself,” she adds. 

Along with Jane is Dr Victor who is also volunteering for the first time in the health checks. Victor was part of a team that carried out eye examinations for students.

“Students spend quite a lot of time studying,” says Victor. “So regular vision checks are very important,” he adds.

Victor’s favourite part of the experience was interacting with students and sharing his experience.

“We’d usually have a few minutes to chat with students at the end of the tests. It was rewarding to answer all their questions and listen to their experiences,” explains Victor.  

This is the fourteenth year that a team of international doctors and health professionals has volunteered for two weeks at The School of St Jude to perform free health check-ups for all students. After travel restrictions in recent years, it’s wonderful to see the Health Check team has risen to the challenge and successfully ensured 1,800 students are all off to a healthy start for 2023! 

A scholarship for secondary education at The School of St Jude is life changing.

In Tanzania, almost 80% of students complete primary school, but just 70% of 14 to 17-year-olds are enrolled in secondary school. Of these students, just 12% complete the first four years of secondary education. 

In contrast, 100% of St Jude’s secondary students successfully complete those same four years. 

“Student scholarships for secondary school are highly sought after,” says Philip, Community Relations Manager at St Jude’s. “Every year, thousands of students from government schools apply for a scholarship at St Jude’s,” he adds. 

Philip and his team are responsible for the entire Scholarship Application Process at St Jude’s. To ensure that they select students who meet the school’s academic and poverty requirements, Philip coordinates with other institutions such as the National Examination Council of Tanzania, the body responsible for preparing, marking, grading, and finally releasing national results for Standard 7 (end of primary school) examinations. 

“The Standard 7 national results help us identify students that best fit St Jude’s scholarship requirements from an academic perspective,” explains Philip. “The sooner we have the results, the sooner we are able to start the Scholarship Application Process,” he adds.

However, in 2022 the Standard 7 results were unexpectedly delayed, leaving Philip and his team with just a few weeks to complete the Scholarship Application Process. 

“Our target was to invite about 4,000 applicants,” says Philip. “This involves delivering letters to hundreds of government schools to invite their top performing students to attend Scholarship Application Days, then we hold the Scholarship Application Days and after that, there are Poverty Assessments for students who have passed the exams. This all had to be done in a span of about three weeks!” he continues. 

Faced with this seemingly impossible challenge, Philip and his team sought help from St Jude’s staff – and they responded in kind. In a matter of days, hundreds of St Jude’s staff and alumni had spread across Northern Tanzania, happily assisting with letter distribution to ensure that all eligible students could attend the school’s Scholarship Application Days. Some staff volunteered their personal vehicles to supplement the St Jude’s bus fleet, while many made use of local transport, like motorcycle taxis, to reach remote areas quickly. 

“I have never seen such team spirit and unity in my career,” recalls Philip. “It’s like we had an army of ants working for us,” he adds.

To make the job even bigger, 2022 was the first year students from Dodoma region could apply for a St Jude’s scholarship, in addition to those from Arusha, Manyara and Kilimanjaro regions.

Yet, with an amazing show of spirit, 38 staff and 68 volunteers successfully delivered 4,936 letters to 1,013 schools, ensuring that the Scholarship Application Days could proceed as planned in early December. 

On the days themselves, the prospective students sat examinations and completed short interviews. Those who passed with good marks were then placed on a list to receive a House Check from St Jude’s staff, who performed Poverty Assessments to determine which students would benefit most from a scholarship to study at St Jude’s.

Erland was one of the many St Jude’s staff who spent several days completing House Checks in the Dodoma region. 

“I had never travelled to that part of the country before, so it was an adventurous experience,” says Erland.  

With the deadline approaching quickly, Erland and his team had to move fast. However, they found themselves facing navigational and communication challenges, and meeting a few surprises along the way. 

“We soon found out that a majority of our contacts were older people and didn’t speak Kiswahili (Tanzania’s national language) fluently,” recalls Erland. “It was difficult to even arrange a rendezvous. And then at one point, our vehicle broke down and wouldn’t start. So we had to push it until we finally got help from the locals,” he narrates. 

The most remote house Erland and his team had to visit was hidden away in a forest that was also home to wild animals, including hyenas. 

“It took us close to an hour just to navigate the thick forest,” recalls Erland. “I honestly didn’t think we would find anyone living there,” he admits. 

Despite the challenges, the 2022 Form 1 Scholarship Application Process was a huge success. On 9 January 2023, 178 new students started Form 1 at St Jude’s two secondary schools, joining 62 students who have continued at St Jude’s from primary school.

The commitment to giving bright, poor Tanzanian students a free, quality education is one that requires self-sacrifice and willpower. Yet again, the St Jude’s community has demonstrated that they are more than equal to the task.