2015 Trip – 21 July

Peter:

Apologies for the recent delay in diary entries and images, but once we had left Kenya we had various problems setting up internet access, and we were incredibly busy when we arrived at Meserani Snake Park.

It has been extremely hectic during our first four days here in Tanzania – visiting a number of primary and secondary schools, sorting out project resources and dealing with the requirements of ten sponsored students who are due to start their A’ Level studies this week.

The challenges faced by your sons and daughters have been difficult, and sometimes emotionally charged, but everyone has been amazing in their attitude and actions, and it is a pleasure to share their experiences with them.

 

Jordan Mace

Today we visited Moita Boarding School and I was paired off with 2 boys Lomayani and Samwel. Lomayani was the smartest boy in his form which was form 3. He asked for my face book so I give him my name so we can stay in contacted. We also played a game where we had to find things around the school and remember the name and the code of the thing. That was really good but really tiring. Me and my group thought it was good as it was a good team group game. Now we are sat at the bar getting drinks and having a good time. I love and miss everyone at home can’t wait to come home and tell everyone about it. Bye J

 

Lewis Jefferson

Jamboooo!! Today has been another amazing day because we went to Moita boys Boarding school which is the school of my family’s sponsored child. First of all we got paired up and my two kids were Lamnyaki and my sponsor Saningo. They were both incredibly interesting, Lamnyaki wants to be a pilot and is fifth in his year and Saningo is soon to do his exams and wants to become a secondary school teacher of science. Saningo was amazing to meet at last after both of my brothers have already met him, he said hi to all and hope you are well. We spent a all day at the school talking to them and playing volleyball then a game of aliens which was so fun. My two were very clever and remembered everything. Just before we went home I gave Saningo his gifts and he loved them and was so sincere to me. He couldn’t thank me enough. After a long journey home in a cramped Patatoo’s (a very small minibus), we got home and chilled for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon and I’m on duty group so I’ll have to go. I love and miss you all so much. Can’t wait to get home and see you all. Bye!

 

Abigail Pentney

Today was amazing! We went to a boys secondary school and stayed there all day. We had an English lesson, had a picnic and played games. Getting there was interesting and we went in really small minibuses over the rocky road. Tomorrow we are going to einoti and I will see sara! I’ve bought us matching necklaces with elephants on. Today I also got a massai blanket and earrings and I really think I fit in with the locals haha. I am having a great time and missing you! Hope you enjoy Majorca, love you lots x

 

Rebecca Crandon

Today has been one of my favourites so far! We spent all day at Moita Boys School, we got to sit in a lesson, speak to the sponsored pupils for a bit who then took us on a tour of the school so we got to see where they sleep etc. We then all sat down and had some dinner. Also after years and years of Peter bringing the stuff for us to play Aliens we finally got chance to, it was so much fun. I was in a team with Lembris and Shinini we ran all over the place, I was absolutely shattered afterwards! To get to the school we had to take mtatu’s which surprisingly weren’t that uncomfortable. Missing you lots, can’t wait to get home and see your little angel faces. Love you xxxxxxxxxx

 

Josh Cooper

Today we spent a full day at Moita Boy’s secondary school. I was an amazing experience to see how an all boy’s school manages to function. We were given the chance to sit in one of their lessons. I was chosen to sit in an English lesson, along with Jordy and Jenny, where the students were listening to a summary of a book taught by their teacher. The book was based upon a Ugandan footballer’s terrible life as a child. We were able to introduce ourselves to the class afterwards. Once the lesson had finished, the school joined together to sing the Tanzanian national anthem and receive prizes and gifts. We then sung our national anthem too!!! I was then paired up with three sponsored to eat lunch with them and play some games. In between this, we had a game of volleyball with the school’s best volleyballers and we got beat!! Overall, it has been a fantastic day, full of emotion and fun combined and I provided four boys with my email address because they were desperate to stay in touch. Of course I’m missing you guys, but I’m still loving Africa. Will write to you soon.

 

Rhys Williams

Today was quite a spectacular day as we spent the whole day at Moita boy’s secondary boarding school, which is the school that Onesmo goes to (my family’s sponsored child). We sat in a lesson, maths for me, listened to the national anthem, met our sponsored students and gave them their gifts, played volleyball (which we lost horribly) and had lunch with them. We finished the visit by playing a game that had us all running around the school. It was very fun.

            Once back I helped kit out another A-level student and then Jacob got me to get massai blanket. It is very warm and comfy. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow holds.

 

Jake Hardy

Im fine just have been a bit busy while diaries have been written so haven’t wrote one. Its been eventful and fun. We visited different primary and secondary schools meeting pupils and enjoyed a picnic at the all boys boarding school. I also bought a spear to hang on the wall. Enjoy the excursions waking up early in morning just like us. Speak more in 9 days see you soon.

 

Sophie Sidgwick

On Sunday we visited Irkisongo Girls Boarding School which is where Einoth goes. I got to meet her and it was amazing, she was quite shy at first but as we spoke she opened up. When we got to the school they sang a lot of songs and involved us in dances. She showed me the dormitories in which she stays as well as the dining hall and classrooms. She didn’t let go of my hand the whole time we were walking around the school which was cute and she said that she was really glad to meet me. It was crazy being able to meet her and seeing what an actual difference I am making to her life. The school was lovely and I was happy to see her in that environment. I bought a bracelet from the market and gave it to her so that we could match. When we were on duty group on the Sunday night and we were washing up, David said he had a surprise for us and he brought out his speaker playing Shake It Off by Taylor Swift and we were all dancing and it was great. We walked to two primary schools yesterday which were rather far away, we did the hokey pokey, the button song and heads shoulders knees and toes with them and they loved it. Me and Lisa also did a bit of a tap workshop in the back of a classroom which was really fun. Today we went to Moita Boys Secondary School and spent the day with them, played volleyball, had lunch and played the aliens game, it’s been a really good day. Love and miss everyone back home, can’t wait to see you all.

 

 Lizzie Nicholson

Yesterday was quite difficult. We visited 2 primary schools where we collect sponsored pupils from. We took part in the interviewing process which was pretty emotional. Grace stood forward and explained to every child that just because they are getting interviewed doesn’t mean that they have a sponsor. That was so difficult to hear because it felt like we were getting their hopes up by asking them about their background. There were two children that really stood out for me: one was a boy who only had one bowl of maize per day, another was a girl who has to hide with her head teacher so her dad doesn’t marry her off. It was heart breaking to hear about the girls in particular who were in danger of getting married to men who are so much older than them. However, the most emotional story by far was Regina’s story. She had her sponsor yet failed her final primary school examinations. That meant that she couldn’t carry on in her studies. However, Peter and Grace found out that her father had had her circumcised just before her exams almost guaranteeing her failure. They managed to get her into secondary school in the end though and now she looks so happy. It is horrific to imagine the pain she went through!

Today we visited Moita Boys school which was amazing! The boys were brilliant! I was paired with three boys. One of them was sponsored by our chair of governors, so he was full of questions about Acklam Grange. He also told me to say ‘Hi and Thank you’ haha. We played cards, we talked, they showed us around their school, and we played volleyball. They showed me to their dorms where they literally had some sponge for a mattress. They also told me how it is two to each bed. I couldn’t imagine how cramped they must get on a night! Tomorrow we will be at Einoti so I can’t wait to write again tomorrow. Love you all! Big hugs and I’ll see you in 11 days xx

 

Joe Garrens

Sorry for not putting a diary on yesterday we didn’t have enough time as we were so busy. Yesterday we visited 2 primary schools, Meserani Juu and Lesiraa. It was so good to finally see what this trip was about, we went in to the classroom and talked to all the children which was definitely an amazing experience. We also interviewed some of the children that are potential candidates for people to sponsor them and the stories that they had were deeply upsetting. Of course we also had a sing and dance. The other school was also very similar with the stories and the singing and dancing. Today was a lot different as we spent the whole day at Moita boys secondary school and we were paired up with certain sponsored students so we got to know them a lot more and learn about their lives. The optimism and determination that these children have despite their past is exceptional and honorable. My children were called Solamen and Loda they were absolutely amazing. Tomorrow we are visiting Einoti which will also be extremely rewarding. I hope everything is all well at home and I hope that you got home safe Ellie and had such a great time. I can’t wait to see you all so much. I love you all!

 

Kieran Potter

Sorry for no diary entry yesterday we were really busy. We visited two schools yesterday which were both primary schools Meserani Juu and Lesiraa school. It was amazing with both schools sing their songs to us and us sing our national anthem to them. It was purely amazing. We interviewed possible pupils for sponsoring too while we were there, and as you may have guessed it was pretty upsetting. Today we spent the entire day at moita school for boys which was also amazing being paired off with three sponsored pupils which was amazing to hear their stories and how they felt about being sponsored. Overall both days have been absolutely amazing and I can’t wait to have more experiences like this. I hope everyone is well and I love and miss you all. X

 

Daniel Appleton

Sorry I missed out another diary entry yesterday. We went to visit Meserani Juu and Lesiraa primary schools and good news, I picked a child for us to sponsor! Her name is Jane, she’s smart and she has a touching back story so I had to pick her. I don’t want to say too much about her in case we don’t end up sponsoring her but I’m hoping we don’t have any problems. The schools we visited were really good but we couldn’t interact with the kids as much because they didn’t know much English. Today we visited Moita Boys Secondary school which was great. We got to sit in on a lesson and they are very different to lessons we have in England. I couldn’t even tell what lesson I was in even though it was all in English. We got to spend the day with boys who are sponsored by the Meserani project. The boys I was grouped with were all pleasant. We got to play a game together called Alien which we all had a laugh doing. We had to run around the school and find pictures with numbers and words on them. We would then have to remember the words and numbers and run back to the teachers who would note it down. The winner is the group who had the most pictures noted down. We still don’t know who won but I’m feeling lucky. Just hanging around at the camp now and relaxing after a busy day at the school. I’ll try not to forget about writing a diary entry tomorrow. Will be in touch soon.

 

Aaron Jardine

Yesterday we went to two primary schools which were Meserani juu and lesiraa primary schools, the aim of going to the two primary schools was to try and find potential people to be sponsored for next year. I thought it was really nice to meet the young kids and interact with them. Then today was one of the big days for me, the reason for this was because today was when Jacob and I got to meet Julias, he is an amazing person, he as well which was really nice. He explained more about himself to me which was really nice and I gave him the stuff in which I brought over for him, he was once again really thankful. Jacob and I got some pictures with him which we will show when we get home. We then had lunch with them and played a game of aliens with them which was really fun, we then finished with the game and got into the mtatu’s and headed back to the campsite where we have just been relaxing for a little bit. It is really nice meeting all of the sponsored pupils and getting along with them; there English is really good, probably better than mine! Hope all are well, bye.

 

Josef Ramsay

Yesterday we went to two different primary schools, one called Meserani Juu and Lesiraa primary school.  When we went to Meserani Juu we walked for about 1 hour straight till we arrived and then we went to the last year group so we could interview the top 10 students for selection for sponsorship. We gave them all pens or pencils when we finished the interviews. Then we walked back to the campsite where we had lunch, then we set off walking to the next school which was closer(thank god because we were shattered). We did the same type of stuff at the seconds school however we met a young girl called Regina who has an amazing story and is one of the well known names in the meserani project(I’ll tell you her story when we get home). It was an amazing day but it really took its toll, but it’s amazing to see what a child will do for a sponsor.

Today we went to moita secondary school and we spent the whole day with the sponsored students, I was with mohamedi, lais and Boniface and we had a great time. I sat in one of the lessons with a sister teaching me( she loved me!). we played games and stuff together as well and it was a lot of fun! It was amazing and I loved every minute of it! Love you all.

 

Helen Roberts

Pineapple crumble who would of thought. It’s 9 o’clock at night local time and I am worn out after two very exciting days. Yesterday we visited mesarani juu and lessera we walked in the heat and dust to meet some very interesting people and even though it was tiring it was so worth it. Today we went to the boys boarding school Moita School and meet all the sponsors we have at that school. I got to get to know three of them and they were all lovely boys but they were really competitive when we came to playing the game aliens around their school. They all wanted to know about the different culture of England and how the education system worked which to everyone in England is something we can take for granted but for them it was so interesting. Hope everyone is okay back at home lots of love x