It鈥檚 5am on a Sunday, pitch black outside, with no hint of light. Mr Somboka, the accounting teacher at St Jude鈥檚 picks up his phone to turn off his alarm, the screen glowing on his face.
Most weekends, Mr Somboka volunteers his time, going into St Jude鈥檚 to help his students.
His morning routine involves having a shower before eating his breakfast and, as the sun rises, he begins looking over his notes. Mr Somboka likes to meticulously prepare his lessons, reading absolutely everything that he can find.
At about half past nine, he says good-bye to his wife and two children, before arriving at St Jude鈥檚 just before ten o鈥檆lock.
As Mr Somboka arrives at St Jude鈥檚, he walks towards Room 10 of Block B where fourteen of his Form 6 students are waiting for him. Today鈥檚 focus will be going over their previous exam.
After arriving, students begin approaching Mr Somboka鈥檚 desk, he goes over each exam with them individually. Some of them come holding a letter which outlines what errors they made in the exam, and strategies they can use to improve. 鈥淎fter receiving the letters I sit with them one after another and we talk,鈥� says Mr Somboka. 鈥淲e find a way to solve a problem with each student.鈥�
Last year, St Jude鈥檚 Form 6 accounting class made it into the top 10 schools in Tanzania and Mr Somboka identifies one key factor in this success.
鈥淚 came up with strategies on how students will love my subject,鈥� he says. 鈥淎ccounting is everywhere!鈥�
To connect with his students, Mr Somboka keeps his classes practical, relating the curriculum to the real world. 鈥淚f a student鈥檚 dream is to be a business person I will ask them about managing their funds and turning a profit,鈥� says Mr Somboka. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e the practical questions I ask my students.鈥�
Mr Somboka is one of four children, his parents taught him the value of being patient and believing in yourself.
His family would work as a team, helping one another, in order to face their problems. This is an approach Mr Somboka has taken with him to St Jude鈥檚.
鈥淲e do everything as a team, for each department,鈥� says Mr Somboka. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 a student failing a business subject, we as a department will meet and help that student." Teamwork and helping make up the spine of Mr Somboka鈥檚 teaching philosophy and are values that he passes onto his Form 6 students.
鈥淚鈥檓 happy to see my students back in class after so long. My focus right now is to help the students cope after being home for over three months. Currently, the students are doing regional examinations and once that鈥檚 done, we will be going through all the past papers to prepare for the national examinations.鈥�
鈥淚 absolutely believe that this group of Form 6 students will make it into top 10 again because the students worked extra hard coming out of the coronavirus pandemic,鈥� says Mr Somboka.
On some days, Mr Somboka will be sitting in his office and hear a knock at the door. The person standing at the door will be a student, seeking help on an upcoming exam or even seeking counselling on what they are going through outside of school.
鈥淥ne of the problems students have involved parents who are divorced and they will be sitting in class thinking about their mum and dad,鈥� says Mr Somboka. 鈥淚 tell them that this is their parent鈥檚 problems, and it is up to them to find their own future.鈥�
鈥淥nce they have found their own future, they can help their parents.鈥� He added, 鈥淢y advice to all students is to focus on their priorities. They should always live based on St Jude鈥檚 core values which are Respect, Responsibility, Honesty and Kindness.鈥�
A donation to St Jude鈥檚听goes a long way鈥� It contributes towards getting teachers the tools they need to improve student engagement and achievement.
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