An international nursing school by the Sisters of St. Therese, combining Tanzania’s national curriculum with global standards - to strengthen healthcare in rural communities.
We are the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, based in Bukoba, Tanzania. Founded in 1932, we have grown into a multinational congregation with members from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda. This school is an extension of everything we have built.
Why the school is needed:
In Tanzania, there is one nurse for every 1,982 patients, nearly double the WHO minimum of 1:1,000 required for universal health coverage. This gap costs lives every day.
Existing nursing schools train graduates without the skills to handle cancer patients, elderly care, or palliative care. The gap between what nurses can do and what patients need keeps growing.
When nurses lack proper training, patients suffer. Elderly patients are turned away. Those with chronic illness receive inadequate care. Not out of negligence, out of lack of knowledge.
In regions like Kagera, patients travel hours for basic care. Facilities are understaffed and under-resourced. The communities that need nurses most are the ones with the fewest.
We are building ground-level first to keep costs low and start training sooner.
4 classrooms · Training room · Skills lab · 2 admin rooms
Phase 1 establishes the foundation of our nursing centre - four dedicated classrooms, a clinical training room, and a skills lab where students practise real-world care. From day one, our team is here to support every step of the journey.
Costs: 39,060 $
Administration offices + faculty rooms + resource center
Phase 2 strengthens our institution with professional offices, faculty spaces, and a resource centre for research and learning. A well-supported team means better-trained nurses and better care for communities across Tanzania.
Costs: 35,153 $
Student accommodation (safe residential facility)
Phase 3 provides secure, affordable accommodation for nursing students - many of whom travel from rural areas far from home. When students feel safe and stable, they can give everything to their training and to the patients they will one day serve.
Costs: 35,153 $
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Zelia & Martin - Nursing School
"Even one brick, two bricks, ten - according to your capacity."
Novice Annastella, born in Misenyi District
The model integrates Tanzania’s national curriculum with international competency-based standards.
The Zelia & Martin International Nursing School is a planned nursing institution in Kajunguti,Missenyi District, Kagera, Tanzania. It is an initiative of the Sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, a congregation that has served this community since 1932. The school will train nurses using a curriculum that combines Tanzania's national standards with international frameworks from Germany and the USA, producing graduates who can work locally and internationally.
The school is named after Zelia and Martin Martin — the parents of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, the patron saint of the Sisters of St. Therese congregation. In 2015, they became the first married couple in history to be canonized together by the Catholic Church. They represent devotion,care, and a life of service, exactly the values this school will teach.
The school will be built on 200 acres of secured land in Kajunguti, Missenyi District, Kagera Region, close to Bukoba in northwest Tanzania. Site clearing has already begun. The locationis adjacent to an existing health center, which will provide practical clinical training opportunities for students.
Construction is planned in three phases over approximately 24 months, beginning as soon as Phase 1 funding is secured. Phase 1 covers classrooms, a skills lab, and administration rooms, the minimum needed to begin training the first students.
The school will accept 30 students in its first year, growing to 60 students per year from Year 2 onwards. Over the first 10 years, the school is projected to graduate over 500 qualified nurses, nurses who can serve communities across Tanzania and beyond.