A day at Victoria Junior School

Today we visited Victoria Junior School. As we stepped off the minibus and entered the school we were greeted by a group of children wearing Tanzanian clothing. Each child then paired off with each Tanzanian guest for the day, taking pictures and answering any questions they had. We were shown into the staff room and split into two groups, a mix of Tanzanians and Cumbrians in each group. One went to join in with an art lesson while the other (which I was in) participated in some dance activities.

The children showed the fascinated Tanzanians a well prepared and rehearsed maypole dance routine and we were then given the chance to join in, however we were no match against the children’s efforts! After this, we performed some Tanzanian dances for them such as ‘Natumbaya’ and ‘Timoti Sosi’, and as before, gave them the chance to join in. The children were quick to learn the simple Swahili phrases and were very enthusiastic to learn the moves to go with them.

Next we enjoyed a game of rounders, both the ‘Tanzumbrians’ and the children mixed in on the same teams. This was a new game for the Tanzanians but they seemed to enjoy it, and caught on very quickly. Rooney in particular made some new friends, as he showed off his football skills to them.

Following a lunch buffet we joined Becca’s class and helped them to write blogs and form photo collages about their days with us and the Tanzanians. Alongside this we enjoyed taking photos with each other on the ipads – another thing which the Tanzanians found fascinating. It was lovely to get to know the children, who were very respectful and interested in life in Tanzania.

Finally we were invited into an assembly where each year group told the rest of the school what they had done with the Tanzanians that day, including a short performance from the group which had learnt the Tanzanian dances. We sang happy birthday to Becca ;) and then the school made a generous presentation to Chota, deputy head teacher at a school back in Tanzanian of some no longer needed sports kit. This was particularly nice as Chotta's school and Victoria Junior school have been in contact for the past year sending letters and studying each others way of life.

 

Dani