St Jude’s Revisited
Tuesday, May 31st, 2011At first we went to the Usa River campus. This is the location of the secondary school. It
was opened in 2008, when the first class reached secondary level. It would be an impressive school anywhere in the world - and even more so in Arusha. When I first saw it I thought for a minute I’m at a university campus. However, the St Jude tour was scheduled and visitors are usually welcomed at the Primary School. We traveled across town and 45 minutes later we reached our destination.
At first I thought, this is all a bit too polished - the visitor service, the assembly with students performing (for the visitors?). But now, more than a week later I still like to remember the visit. And I have a lot of good memories. The guests were invited up on a stage to briefly introduce themselves, so the students knew our names. During the tour with Adellah from the visitor service, a little girl about Sally’s age came up to me and said “Hello Sabine” - I was very surprised she remembered my name. Turns out we share the
same name;)
A few minutes later we passed a room with the dance club in action - practicing what I know as Ententanz, and before we knew it, Deb and I were dancing as well. The rooms are all organized practical - practical for the students and in friendly colors so it can be fun to be there. Each student has a space in the shelf for the bags and some space in a large shelf for text books and exercise books.
The grounds are divided into separate areas for lower and upper primary and the respective playgrounds reflect the different age groups. Similarly the colorful murals encompassing the school grounds are showing learning content from the syllabus. A great way to learn - apparently teachers use the large pictures, which are done in excellent detail, to explain for example the reproductive organs or the digestive tract of humans or some physical phenomenon.
What I still remember most though is the enthusiasm for kitchen staff and teachers alike, a lot of things that show attention to detail and the love of all the staff of St Jude’s for these children: children who fail a class can repeat and so far this hasn’t been much of a problem; if the teachers notice that the students are more upset than to be expected before going back home for the holiday, a group of 2-3 teachers will visit the family and talk to the neighbours again. Sometimes students know they won’t get more than 1 meal per day at most - that certainly would upset me as well. In such cases the school takes in lower primary students for boarding. Usually boarding is only from upper primary to give the students the chance to build a relationship with their family and, how Adellah put it, so they know where their home is.
The school has a computer room which has very restrictive internet settings for afternoon classes and no internet access in the morning, but the computer labs are equipped with state of the art hardware - in other words, the children really learn to use a computer as a helpful tool.
St Jude’s is teaching the syllabus for the international baccaleaureate - so in theory the graduates can study in most places worldwide. The first graduates are not expected for another two years, but then the next challenge is waiting: to find scholarships for these bright and highly motivated children. Their parents will still be among the poorest and won’t be able to support them. Anybody involved in scholarship management, feel free to get in touch with the school. You won’t regret it!