African Adventure Our School

Today, two schools on different sides of the planet will collide.

Firth Park in Sheffield and the Memusi School in Kenya

are 4,000 miles apart.

Two of our Year 7s are bridging the gap.

Hi!

For Olivia and Roman, it's the trip of a lifetime.

I'm scared.

But nobody said it was going to be easy.

Meet our new Year 7.

Sick bucket!

It's the most important school year of their life so far.

Haircut, sir?

They're all starting here together.

That level of noise is absolutely disgusting.

Yes!

This has seen better days.

You stinked her.

CBBC have filled the entire place with cameras,

so you'll get to watch Year 7 every step of the way.

-Oh!

-Stop waving at me!

-Yeah!

Hello, I'm Mr Jones.

I'm a maths teacher here at Our School,

and every time that you're here, I'm going to be here too.

Right now, I'm late for a lesson. Excuse me.

Come on in.

# Our school! #

Boom, mic drop.

Year 7 have been raising money for the Memusi Foundation,

which builds and runs schools in Kenya,

giving a life-saving education in one of the poorest parts of Africa.

£3 please.

-Our students have built businesses...

-It's too much.

..taught teachers to rap...

# Get your sums right and your brain'll get bigger! #

..and had a few close shaves.

-Oh, my God!

-Go, go, go, go!

But today, our two school ambassadors, Olivia and Roman,

with Miss Ahmed, are embarking on their biggest adventure ever.

They're going to Kenya.

Whoa, whoa, whoa! Watch it, Roman!

The whole journey will take nearly a day.

May I have your passport, please?

All our bags have gone, so we can't get them back,

so this thing is official.

But I reckon Roman thinks he's off on holiday.

The thing I can't wait for is getting a tan.

I'll be tanned for the first time in my life.

I'm feeling pretty nervous,

cos I haven't been on a flight since, like, I was two.

Anyway, if you experience turbulence,

-you can put them oxygen things on your face.

-Why?

-So you can breathe in oxygen.

-Yeah, but what's turbulence?

-It's, like, when the plane shakes in the air.

-Why does it shake?

Thanks, Roman. Very comforting.

Right then, you've got a plane to catch.

26, 27, 28!

Seat belts on, and off we go.

Now that wasn't so bad, were it?

It's an eight-hour, 4,000-mile flight to Kenya.

Finally, they've arrived.

-Goodbye!

-Bye!

We're in Africa! This is Africa!

I overcame my fear of flying, so that's good.

So tired though.

But it's not over yet.

There's still a four-hour minibus ride to the school.

Roman and Olivia have been travelling for nearly a day,

so this is the quiet bit. Shh!

But they'd better wake up, as it's time to say "Jambo!"

to the pupils of the Memusi School.

Wow, this is the school!

Jambo means "Hello" in Swahili.

SINGING

SINGING CONTINUES

It's so pretty!

# Welcome!

# Welcome, Roman, Welcome, Olivia... #

There's a big welcome from Ann, who's one of the teachers here.

I want us to go and sing with them.

SINGING CONTINUES

CHEERING

Wow! I wish I got greeted like that at school every day.

At the moment, I'm feeling, like, really emotional and happy,

and, like, excited and everything.

I feel like I'm going to cry. That was just, like, amazing.

What just happened was amazing.

This school costs £36,000 a year to keep open.

Without the money our school have been helping to raise,

the 360 pupils here would have nowhere to go.

For the next three days,

Olivia and Roman will see how their fundraising is changing lives.

-This is Faith, this is Olivia.

-Hi!

Faith and Ali are going to show them around.

-This is your new friend from Britain.

-Jambo!

-How old are you, then?

-I am 10 years old.

-I'm 11, so I'm...

-You are a big girl!

-Yeah!

When's your birthday?

12th October.

-October.

-Yeah.

-Mine is the 10th of October.

-So, two days before yours.

-Yeah.

Me and Ali have, like, a lot in common,

but we also have a lot of differences.

After you finish school, what do you like to do?

-To play football.

-Football, is that your favourite thing?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Football is, like, down at the bottom of the list,

all the way over there.

I do not like football.

Could you teach me any Swahili?

When you say "Hakuna matata", it means there is no problem.

How do you say school?

-School? Shule.

-Shule.

Like, how do you say, like, friend and things?

-Say "Rafiki".

-Rafiki.

-Yes.

-So, are me and you rafikis?

-Yes.

The school has three break times every day.

It's a chance for Olivia to meet some new friends.

Looks like she could be very popular around here.

-How old are you?

-I'm 11.

-Roman is your brother?

-Oh, no, Roman's not my brother.

I have two sisters.

Meanwhile, Roman's telling the lads about his dream job.

Do you watch the TV, and you see people dancing on shows?

A choreographer is a person who makes them dances up.

-What would you like to be?

-I'd like to be a civil engineer.

Engineer?

-ALL:

-My mother was washing the clothes.

My mother me gave a piece of soap. Which colour was it?

Time for class.

The students here study English, Swahili, religious studies,

science and my favourite, maths.

-Good afternoon, class.

-ALL:

-Good afternoon!

As we got to our seats, everybody stood up and was like

"Good morning, ma'am."

-How are you?

-ALL:

-We are fine, thank you.

-Sit down.

-ALL:

-Thank you, ma'am.

They have a lot more respect here.

Like, in the UK if a teacher asked you to do that, they'd be like,

"No!"

Speaking English in lessons is good practice for the students here,

and may help them in their future careers.

14 plus a box is equal to 20.

Yeah, Ali?

20, take out 14.

Six.

Wow! Can you clap for him?

Thank you, Ali.

Every time Miss asked a question, everybody was like,

"Teacher, teacher, teacher, teacher!

-Teacher!

-Teacher!

Like, in our maths class, if we said "Teacher, teacher, teacher,"

we'd get a C1, and that's just, like, a shouting at.

-Teacher, teacher!

-Teacher!

Everyone was all keen to learn...

Want to try that one?

..whereas, like, if we were in the UK,

you struggle to get people to put their hands up.

It's like, "Right, what's the answer?"

Everyone's like...

SHE GROANS

It's lunchtime.

Just like back home, there's always a queue.

Food is scarce in this part of Kenya.

The school gives its students a diet of beans and maize.

For some, this is their only meal of the day.

Unfortunately, our Roman is the world's pickiest eater.

-I'm scared, Olivia.

-Oh, God, you need to chill.

I can't chill, I'm scared.

Roman was terrified.

We were in the line and Roman was already practically shaking.

-I'm scared.

-No, don't be.

-Thank you.

-Welcome.

-Looks weird.

-It don't taste like that, though.

I don't know. I'm scared to eat it.

Come on, Roman. Get it down you!

I'm scared.

Olivia, show him how it's done.

Three, two, one.

Ooh, it's really sweet. Nice!

How did you like that?

Is that oil? There's little bubbles in it.

Isn't oil what you put in cars?

-I'm scared.

-You know, if you don't put that in,

I'm going to put it in your mouth.

It smelled like an old lady's fart.

It smelled horrible.

The first bite of it's sweet, but then when you crunch into it,

it's really salty and it's not really nice.

-Can we have a tissue? I'm going to spit it out.

-Aww!

I can't dare to swallow it.

I kind of felt like that was a bit rude.

Because they were sat there, eating it,

while Roman was turning his nose up at it.

Does anyone want mine? Do you want mine, Ali?

Roman, what?

Roman might not be a fan, but for Ali,

this food is a lifeline.

-Do you like the food?

-Yes.

Yes. I don't like it, me.

-You see me eat this one every day.

-Every day?

-The people that are hungry in Kenya, they eat this.

-Why?

Because food is food.

It's all...

..that we can get.

I feel, like, very grateful and lucky for what I have at home now,

because we have, like, loads of different foods

and different varieties.

Wow. We are very lucky and very, like, privileged.

It's 3pm and the school day's over.

Faith has invited Olivia around to her house.

-Do you like your house?

-Yes.

-Is it cool inside?

-Yes.

Yes. Away from the heat.

The heat is intense. It's really hot.

The heat was just like, "Oh, my goodness!"

The sun is just directly on you at all times, constantly.

Take that.

-Do you like them?

-Yes.

I thought I'd like it being really, really hot, but I actually don't.

It's actually really horrible, so I'd like it to be cold now.

This is my house.

-Hello!

-How are you?

-I'm fine, thank you. How are you?

Welcome.

-What's your name?

-Isabel.

Isabel? That's a pretty name.

My little sister's called Isabel.

Faith's father is a carpenter,

and actually built the home where the family of five live.

I thought our house was small, but when I saw that house,

it was the size of, like, my living room.

We've got five people living in our house,

and they've got five people living in their house.

The difference is huge.

Which room is this?

-The kitchen.

-Kitchen?

-Yeah.

So, is this, like, where your fire goes and everything?

There, we get fire from this side, you see?

Do you use all of these things to cook in?

This one you can see here, I use all these you can see here now.

I was thinking, "This is how they live?"

Like, it kind of shocked me. I don't know what I expected.

This is my bedroom, me and my sister.

There's only two beds, and this is, like, a family of five.

Does it normally get kind of squashed or squished in here?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

Ali lives just around the corner from Faith.

-Jambo! Welcome.

-Thank you.

I'm Hassan, the father of Ali.

Ali's dad is a teacher,

a job which allows him to support his family of six.

Ooh!

I thought it'd be smaller than this, but it's actually really nice.

Ali sleeps there.

There, container for water.

Water, water.

Families here don't have running water,

so they collect and store it in these tubs.

Ali's television, and his brothers and sisters.

We have tellies. I didn't think that'd be, like, a thing in here.

Yeah, I bought for the kids. They watch the news.

I think it's quite boring, me.

I don't really like the news at home,

so I don't really watch it, me.

Why do you think it's important to watch the news?

To know what is going on in this world.

There's plenty for Roman to think about,

and a parting gift from Ali.

-See you at school tomorrow.

-Yeah.

-Thank you for the necklace.

-You're welcome.

So, that's the end of our first day at the school.

Roman and Olivia are staying nearby, and it's an early night,

as tomorrow's going to be a very busy day.

Hey, it's like the Lion King, isn't it?

The sun comes up on the beautiful African plains spilling light...

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Sorry, I got a bit carried away there.

Anyway, we're up early to meet a young man called Caleb.

His family are Maasai, the oldest culture in Kenya.

-Hello.

-Hi!

-Hello.

-Hi!

-Hi.

-You OK?

-Yeah.

Caleb values his education so much that he makes a 7km trip

to school every day.

-How long does it take you to get to school?

-30 minutes.

-30 minutes.

-Yeah.

-So do you run to get to school?

-Yes.

-Because I only have to walk up the road to my school,

it's like five, ten minutes away,

it's like really, like... take it for granted, yeah.

-Would you like walk with me to school?

-Yeah.

Caleb usually runs this route, sometimes in 40 degrees heat.

We're taking a slower pace today.

I have to be in school at seven.

What time do you get up?

-From home?

-Yeah.

-6.30.

-6.30?

Wow. On the walk, does it get really hot?

-Yeah.

-Yes.

Do you ever wish there was a bus that could come pick you up?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

He risks his life with, like, dangerous animals around,

and he runs as well, just to get to school.

He does that two times a day every single day.

Do you ever hurt your feet?

-Yeah.

-Yes. Do your shoes get broken a lot?

-Yes.

-How many pairs of shoes do you have?

-One pair of shoes.

-One pair of shoes.

I have, like, a full drawer of shoes, like Vans, Converse

and all that, and most of them I don't even use.

-He has one pair.

-All right, Roman.

At this pace, we're going to be very late

to get the school, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-Shall we jump on the bus for the rest of the way?

Yeah. Do you want to run, see who can get fastest to the bus?

-Yeah.

-No, wait.

-His daily run means Caleb is pretty fit.

Do you reckon you can keep up, Roman?

Three, two, one, go!

Go on, Roman!

You won!

-Are you tired?

-No.

-What?!

The walk with Caleb was, like, a really big wake-up call for me.

After that, I was taking it a bit more serious and, like,

not just a holiday any more.

They're just in time for the school assembly.

Not a bad idea, doing it outside.

Wish we could try this back home.

National anthem.

# Oh, God of all creation

# Bless this, our land and nation. #

So then we go.

Roman is given a real honour, raising the Kenyan flag.

Pull this one, pull this one, pull.

He told me to pull it, like yank it, like yank, yank it,

cos it wasn't moving, so I yanked it

and it went ping and it flew off!

KIDS LAUGH

And everyone started laughing, but it wasn't my fault.

I felt so embarrassed and sorry.

Gently.

Pull gently. Gently.

When assembly is over,

Roman decides to show the students here a few of his favourite moves.

Hey, Macarena.

They want you to dance!

# Eh, Macarena! Ay!

# Eh, Macarena! Ay!

# Eh, Macarena! Ay! #

And now Roman's bringing out the big guns with an Our School craze.

-Right, everybody, take one arm and put the other arm out.

-Like that.

-And put your head into your arm.

-It's called dabbing.

Yay!

Everyone do it. One, two, three!

-ALL:

-Hey!

-Yay!

-As the Macarena spreads across the schoolyard...

..Roman and Olivia have a chance to catch up with Ali and Faith.

You celebrate the Christmas Day?

-BOTH:

-Yeah.

-What do you celebrate, how do you celebrate it?

We go and dance and sing.

# We wish you a Merry Christmas We wish you a Merry Christmas

# We wish you a Merry Christmas! And a happy New Year! #

I kind of got shocked when they had Christmas because, like,

I didn't think that they'd celebrate it because they're out here,

in the heat and the stuff like that,

I didn't think they'd have time to worry about Christmas.

-Have you ever seen snow?

-No.

-No?!

No snow, and not much rain either.

Do you guys have enough water here?

No, no, no. It's not... We don't have enough water.

With most homes in Kenya lacking running water,

it's often children who have to go and fetch it for their families.

-Is the water nice?

-It's not nice water.

-It's not nice.

-When you drink, you pain in stomach.

Stomach pains?

-Yes.

-People here rely on rainwater to stay alive, but it can sit

in dirty containers for days.

-Does it make you ill?

-Yes.

What does it do?

It makes us very sick.

Have you ever had it?

-Yes.

-Yes.

-Is it horrible?

-Yes.

When we drink water, we just drink it, but they drink it thinking,

"This could make me ill,

"this could, like, have a really bad impact on my health."

Life is tough out here, but the school provides an education

that could give its pupils a real future,

setting them up for careers that could change their lives.

Without the school, they'd have nothing.

If, if there was no Memusi school, what would you have to do at home?

I'll help my mother in work,

and my mother give me money and go to buy food,

clothes, and shoes, so that's... I learn to write.

Yes. I don't want to die.

Wow.

It kind of made me angry because they're young children

and they are having to worry about their health,

having to worry about are they going to die,

have to worry about everything that we don't have to worry about.

Roman and Olivia have been away from their families for a few days now.

I think it's time to call home.

-Hi!

-Hello, Isabel!

Hello, hello!

-Oh, hi!

-Hello!

You've got some rays, son.

I've got a tan line on my feet.

-Oh, my God, I'm going to cry.

-Don't cry.

I can't help it.

What's the school like, that Memusi school?

The school, it's nice. You know the floor?

It's no grass at all, it's just sand and dirt.

-Oh, wow.

-I met this girl called Faith.

Faith is 11 but she looks like an eight-year-old.

And when she smiles, it's like, it's like a really cute smile.

Olivia's dad is away at work, but he's not going to miss out on this.

Dad said, "Are you enjoying it?"

Yeah.

As much as I've loved it here, I so need to come home.

I can't wait for you to come home, I have missed you.

Me too, I love you.

So Olivia's homesick, but what about Roman?

-Are you missing us?

-A bit.

-A bit.

-A bit?!

-Yeah.

Right, sweetheart, have you got to go now?

-Yeah.

-Love you.

-SNIFFLES:

-Love you.

-Bye!

Bye!

Bye!

Bye!

Bye!

Done.

SHE SOBS

I miss them so much.

I feel like it's worth it.

If I hadn't have been able to leave my family,

I wouldn't have been able to do all this.

I weren't really that bothered by it because I know I'm

going to see them on Sunday.

For Roman and Olivia,

it's been an incredible few days, but this is their last morning

at the school.

They brought some parting gifts for their new friends.

So it's...it's my last day today, I'm going afterwards.

Olivia gets the chance to say goodbye to Faith.

Do you remember at the beginning?

-Yes.

-When you told me that we were friends.

-Yes.

-Well, I've got something for you so you can remember me

when I'm not in Kenya. I've got you this scarf.

-That's for you.

-Thank you.

And I got you this.

It's like a necklace, a necklace and some earrings.

Wow.

Thank you!

I'm going to miss you when we go.

And me too, I miss you when you go home.

Hello!

I've got a surprise for you - do you want to see?

Olivia, close his eyes.

Open. I got you some chewing gum to chew on.

I also got you a hat to look like a cool dude and swag.

A snapback.

Cool dude.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

Swag!

-Hello!

-Hello!

Roman had decided to give Caleb a pair of his own shoes.

-Are they comfortable?

-Yes, comfortable.

-Your hat...

-Thank you.

-Put it on.

You want to come to play football with us?

Yeah, thanks. You can try your new shoes out, but bear in mind,

-I cannot play football.

-Let's go.

Hey, Roman, you're pretty good, actually.

It's nearly time to go.

But first, the school are throwing a goodbye assembly.

I want to thank our friends Roman and Olivia.

Roman gave me his shoes and his cap.

Thank you.

It is a good week.

I love our friends Roman and Olivia.

They taught me to dance and they showed me dab like this.

I've really enjoyed my stay here.

I love how open and friendly everyone is.

Thank you, Memusi school!

I think this week's been one of the, like, best weeks of my life

because I've met so many welcoming and warm, pleasant people,

and I think this school is one of the best schools I've ever been to.

CHEERING

Now, Roman and Olivia have a chance to leave their mark on the school.

Looks quite fat!

KIDS GIGGLE

Out of ten, I think this trip has changed me like 11.

At the start of the week, I was like, "The heat!

"It's so hot!", like moaning and complaining a lot.

But now I've realised that they have to put up with it every single day.

I respect the people a lot more.

This trip has definitely been the trip of a lifetime.

I would love to take back the kindness and the happiness

-and the respect that they have here.

-Olivia,

you're going to leave your fingerprints at Memusi family.

And just like give it out to the people of the UK,

and then maybe it would make the UK a lot more of a happy place,

be a bit more joyful, and then understand how privileged we are.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-You're welcome.

I don't want to leave!

And now, a traditional Kenyan farewell.

THEY SING IN SWAHILI

-Bye!

-TEARFUL:

-Bye!

Bye!

-Bye, bye!

-KIDS:

-Bye!

See you, we miss you, come back, OK?

I actually really seeing this, Roman?

THEY SNIFFLE

Goodbye!

I'm so glad we came here, it's been a really fun experience.

Bye, everybody. Bye.

-BOTH:

-Bye!

-KIDS SHOUT:

-Bye! Bye!

The adventure is over.

-Not that way!

-Strictly comes to Our School.

-One, two, three, four.

-You can do good moves, I know you can.

Make it bigger!

-Hello!

-Hello!

-Hi!

-Hello!

Didn't realise how much I'd miss you.

Group hug, family hug, we've missed you!

Do I have to go to school tomorrow?

Cup of tea, then bed.

-School in the morning.

-School in the morning.