Brampton Tanzania Trust

Students from Uru and Brampton get together

The first time the British and Tanzanian students met was at the front of school on the 24th June. To start with, it was quite awkward as we realised the cultural differences between us and both groups were unsure of how to communicate and were very aware that we didn’t want to offend each other. However after a walk in the sun and a first encounter with a playground slide, conversation was flowing and initial awkwardness was soon forgotten. We began to learn how our presumptions of cultural differences before meeting the students were very insignificant and our similarities soon became very apparent, for example, music interests (Chris Brown and Rihanna)
Our first official meeting was at the welcome party at Low Luckens that evening. The Tanzanian students performed traditional song and dance and soon the British students were joining in the fun. We shared traditional songs and games from both cultures such as the Hokey Cokey from our culture and Akachunglia from Tanzanian culture. It was a really enjoyable night and we got the chance to introduce our families to the students and teachers.

That Friday night after a visit to Brampton Bowling Club, we all met at school laden with sleeping bags, pots and pans to head off to Threlkeld for our residential. We got into groups and cooked spaghetti bolognaise together and before we knew it, we were at the beautiful village of Threlkeld. On the Saturday, Moira Houlan arrived to lead group activities and we soon impressed the locals with our rendition of Moon shadow! It was a very fun weekend and strong friendships were already forming and the link had started to feel like one unit.
During the next week, the Tanzanian students came to William Howard to experience a regular school day which involved shadowing students from various year groups and taking part in normal lessons throughout the day. Most mornings, there were assemblies to each year group where the British students introduced our Tanzanian friends to the rest of the school and then we all sang together. This helped us to show the rest of the school what the link could achieve and also made them more aware of the similarities between themselves and the Tanzanian students.
On the 2nd July, we had a cultural evening at Low Luckens. There was a BBQ and a celidh band and everyone was very enthusiastic about learning new dances. It was a very successful event and everyone had great fun.
The following night, the Tanzanian students went to their first home stays with British student’s families. They stayed with their families for a week, doing various activities at the weekend such as going to the cinema or swimming. They moved to their second family for the next week and on the 15th of July we set off for our second residential to York.
On the Wednesday, we visited Beamish Museum and experienced Britain’s culture in the Victorian era by visiting the mines and riding trams. The Victorian sweet shop was a highlight of the visit with its tongue-burning sour sweets. That night, we set up camp in Cote Ghyll Campsite before going to a fish and chips cafe and on returning to the campsite, played parachute games before heading to bed. The next morning, we went into York and visited the York Minster, which the Tanzanians especially enjoyed, and an art gallery. We also walked around the walls of the city and had our evening meal at a nearby restaurant where we celebrated one of the Tanzanian student’s 18th birthdays. Later that night it began to rain and with high hopes of a sunny and dry next day, we went to bed. However, we woke up to a torrential downpour and had the horrible task of packing up all our tents in what was definitely not a sunny and dry day!
We set off in the rain for Lightwater Valley with excitement and anticipation but slight nervousness from the Tanzanians at the prospect of a first ever rollercoaster ride. It was one of the best days of the visits despite looking like we’d just been for a swim fully clothed! There were virtually no queues, thanks to the weather, which meant that the group were able to repeat the adrenaline rush over and over again. On the journey home with our coats hanging from the ceiling, the bus resembled a dry cleaners!
The last event together was the Leaving Party at Castle Carrock village hall. It was a very moving experience as letters, photos and goodbyes were exchanged. After a presentation of certificates and a last song, we waved goodbye to our good friends with the knowledge that we may or may not see them next summer. 
Emily Kay and Lydia Cartwright.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Issue 20 November 2009. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.