In July 2009, thirty six St Christopher’s students travelled to Tanzania for St Christopher’s first community service trip to Africa.

Departing at 02:45 AM was not the best way to start the trip but tiredness and the long journey were quickly put behind us once we landed in the beautiful foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. Thatched rondavels were strewn amongst the cornfields beside the road – a strikingly different scene to the spacious houses and desert landscapes we had left behind.

We spent the next two full days (followed by two half days) working on the foundations of a new primary school in the village of Mabogini on the outskirts of Moshi. The school will be called Juhudi, a Swahili word that describes the effort from the local and international community that has made the project possible.

When we arrived, the foundations of the first three classrooms had already been dug and the foundation walls built. A number of us started work on digging the foundations for the toilet block, a short distance from the main building. This involved long hours of strenuous pick-axe wielding and shovelling. The earth we dug out had to be loaded into hand-carts and dragged to the classroom block. Our first task here was to back-fill the foundations before adding a layer of rocks to act as hard-core and help the back-fill to settle. Before we left, we were able to complete the peripheral cement work so that wall building could begin.

Other schools, together with adults and children from the village, will continue with the work. The first three classrooms are expected to be finished by December ready for the new term in January… pictures of the finished project to follow. Further classrooms will be added over the next year as schools from around the world continue to participate in ISM’s community programme.

On the third day of community service, we left the site after lunch and visited a nearby orphanage where we had the privilege of brightening up the day for many children who, though well cared for, rarely enjoy the one-to-one interaction we were able to give. 

We also spent time on the last day walking around Mabogini village where we were able to interact with some of the local people, including children who will eventually attend the school.

The trip was not all hard work though. We enjoyed a day off halfway through our four days of hard labour. We were able to visit Marangu gate, the start of the track to the summit of Kilimanjaro, and also a nearby waterfall in an area populated by subsistence farmers. Most of us were brave enough to jump from the waterfall – Roddy proved to be the most daring and acrobatic jumper! We also enjoyed a cultural evening at a local lodge and, once the work was done, a safari to Ngorongoro Crater National Park.
At the end, students were asked what they had enjoyed most about the trip.