Shine Pre & Primary English Medium School
Established on 17 January 2022, Shine is the on-site school of Fruitful Orphanage in Arusha, Tanzania. It was founded by Isaac John Sumari to give orphans, street children and children from poor families a real chance at education — and at a future they can choose.
A school built from almost nothing
From a very small beginning, with few facilities and even fewer guarantees, Shine started by welcoming a small number of children and has grown gradually as support has arrived — donations in kind, a piece of land, a borehole, a few classrooms, basic furniture, a small solar system. The journey is far from over.
As the school keeps developing in order to help more vulnerable children, we welcome anyone who can add to the effort it takes to serve these kids properly and give them a real, promising future.
Why choose us
Conducive environment
A quiet, green campus in Duluti, Arusha — built for learning, not for show.
Qualified teachers
A committed team of Tanzanian teachers trained in English-medium primary education.
Effective teaching methods
Small classes, active learning and regular tutoring — every child is known by name.
Affordable fees
Subsidised fees so children from poor families and orphans can study alongside everyone else.
The journey of poverty
In Tanzania, around 68% of the population lives below the poverty line. In that reality, many parents are forced to step back from their families, and many children grow up without support. Girls enter relationships too early — sometimes to protect a younger sibling — and pay for it with disease, early pregnancy, even their lives. Many children lose direction after losing a parent. Some end up on the street, labelled thieves, when in fact no one ever stopped to ask why.
Most of them had real dreams: to be teachers, pilots, doctors, engineers, IT specialists, lawyers, pastors, drivers. The question we keep asking is simple — who will lead them?
The aim of our school
Our aim is to give these children a complete primary and (eventually) secondary education — in a safe, comfortable environment, with the books, computers and equipment they need, reliable energy, enough food, and the calm to actually concentrate on learning.
Our needs, on the road to success
Our journey will be fruitful when you join us. Here is what would make the biggest difference right now:
- More water wells for drinking, cleaning, toilets and gardening
- Reliable energy — extending our solar system, plus hydro and wind sources
- Books, library materials, computers and basic learning equipment
- A school bus for children who live too far to walk
- Sufficient food for day students and boarders
- Fair wages for teachers and staff
- Furniture for classrooms, bedrooms and offices
- New buildings: dormitories, library, computer room, music room, staff rooms, storage, admin block
- A proper playground for football, netball and basketball
- More land for a future technical primary & secondary school, plus livestock and agricultural projects
Our future plan
- Open a technical primary and secondary school with boarding
- Create jobs so educated graduates can earn a living locally
- Partner with international schools and institutions for scholarships and exchanges
- Deliver consistently high-quality education for a stronger next generation
- Run training programmes so children leave school independent
- Help motivated graduates start their own small businesses
Why this?
Education changes everything. Shine exists to bring smiles and hope back to children who had given up, and to remind them that they still have value, a right to be here, and people who will stand beside them. Our slogan says it plainly:
"Educate them to self-help."
A child at school has the power to build a future where everyone can have prosperity. Thank you for your love, and welcome to Shine.