By Maura Graham
On March 26, 2022, Loyola High School in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony following the completion of the construction of the new Loyola Girls Hostel. Built in 1995 with over $3.9 million in grants from USAID/ASHA, and in partnership with the former Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus, Loyola High School has served as a coed Jesuit secondary school for more than 27 years. With the addition of the new girls’ dorm that will accommodate 400 girls, Loyola High School is officially a boarding school, which will allow students to devote more time to their studies while avoiding long and unsafe commutes to the school. The Midwest Jesuits, in partnership with the Jesuits of Eastern Africa, are grateful to USAID/ ASHA for the $772,000 grant that made this construction project possible.
The school is currently ranked 21st out of 229 schools in the region and 176th out of 3,039 schools nationally. Loyola High School stands for excellence in students, both in academics and human formation, with the belief that increasing access to economic and educational opportunities for young people will make a significant impact in helping ensure prosperity for all.
Through this partnership with USAID/ASHA, the school will highlight American ideals and practices through education, and in doing so increase mutual understanding with the American people. Kate Somvongiri, USAID Tanzania Mission Director, attended the ceremony, saying, “Among Tanzanian youth age 20–24, fewer than one-fifth of girls and one-third of boys complete secondary schools. We are here today to change that.”
Attending the ceremony were Somvongiri, Hon. Minister Prof. Adolf Faustine Mkenda, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, and Rev. Bishop Henry Mchamungu, auxilliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, as well as religious leaders, heads of schools, parents, and students of Loyola High School.