STA students were very excited to meet Jordan, a Grade 6 student from Yea Primary School in Australia, who visited us here in Tanzania recently. STA and Yea Primary School have previously worked together to raise money for books and calculators and all our skipping ropes were donated by the Australian school. Jordan has written a blog post about her visit.

I visited STA on a holiday to Tanzania. I came with my mum, Judy, and we also went on safari and relaxed in Zanzibar for a few days. At the same time we came, Lauren's great Aunt and Uncle, also visited who we made very good friends with. Coming to STA was always my favourite part of the trip. I could meet lots of new kids, properly meet Teacher Lauren (who has visited my school before), see how kids from Africa learn and how different a Tanzanian school is.

Jordan and Sabra at the STA Athletics Carnival

When we visited we were assigned to some voluntary jobs. Robyn and I got to paint the girls' toilets and I got to read with the kids, help Lauren with some other jobs and run a small maths activity with a couple of prep kids. Roger did a lot of gardening and some maths with Standard 2 kids. My mum did lots of reading in Teacher Leonard's grade and Lauren's grade, and also a little bit of teaching and admin.

The paintings in the girl's bathroom.

Reading to the Prep and 1 student

All of our favourite part was meeting and spending time with Lauren and the kids. The kids were AMAZING. They were very open and welcoming and made us feel comfortable straight away. They were also adorable and affectionate. It was so hard to say goodbye to them because they were so cute, cuddly, friendly and I really just wanted to stay for the rest of the trip! Some of the Standard 2s, 3s and 4s were like friends. The lunches at the school were delicious and the cooks and workers were so friendly!

Lauren was also very very helpful, organised and welcoming. I am so excited to see the new building after construction. The Baobab Home (the organisation that manages the school) was one of my favourite parts. It's an amazing place! The people and kids were so kind. They were fun to be around and always wanted to play! I will miss all the kids so much and I can't wait to come back again to STA one day!!!!!!

Written by Jordan Watts