Early in the year, SHDT bailed out 528 students within the Southern Region who were among the 29,000 students nationwide who had failed to pay MANEB examinations fees for PSLCE, JCE and MSCE.

According to MANEB the students had failed to pay the fees by the set deadline of 31 December 2023, and were at risk of not writing their exams following years of study. In response to the statement from MANEB, the Trust launched an appeal to its members and well-wishers to provide financial support to enable it to pay fees for vulnerable students within SHDT catchment area. The Trust received a donation from one well-wisher, Dr. Thom Mpinganjira amounting to K10 million and drew K3 million from the membership contributions, making a total of K13 million.

The funds enabled the Trust to pay examination fees for the 528 candidates, who were able to sit for the 2024 MANEB examinations.