Laura Campbell-Preston Student Retreat 2007

BBC played host to 24 students from the Laura Campbell-Preston Charitable Trust in Tanzania for one week from 8th to 14th July 2007. LCP Trust sponsors more than 60 students in Tanzania through secondary and tertiary education. The students are from disadvantaged backgrounds and are often facing difficulties in paying fees for school. Allan McKinnon (Principal at BBC) and David Macha (Pastor at St Margaret's Anglican Church, Moshi) are responsible for overseeing the distribution of the funds raised annually by Mr and Mrs Robert Campbell-Preston. This kind and generous couple lost their daughter in a tragic accident back in 1996 and have set up the trust in her name.

The purpose of the retreat was

1. To bring the community of LCP students together in a sense of unity
2. To assist the students in their studies with a focus on Maths and English in particular
3. To get to know the students a little better and to share in their lives in a deeper way

Two professional teachers from the UK joined Allan (Mike Mackison and Ewan Carmichael) to ensure that the Maths programme was well covered. David worked with three Tanzanian teachers to teach English. BBC were also able to offer an extra-curricula activity in their new computer lab which was a major bonus to the students.

We had busy days, starting at 7am with morning prayers and devotions, followed immediately by classes through until 3pm! There was of course breaks for tea and lunch but the students responded well. The high ration of teachers to students was a huge encouragement for the students who are more used to sharing their teacher with 50, 60 or even 70 other students! The individual tuition helped many students to take great strides of progress in the week that we spent together.

One rule for the week was that ONLY ENGLISH should be spoken. Pastor Macha was very keen on this aspect and had to administer extra classes to a few who were caught out slipping back to Swahili! This was all in good spirits and the whole week was a huge success.

In the afternoons we managed to do a few activities together with the students. There were games of volleyball, outings the local waterfalls and adventure playgrounds, as well as the highlight for many; visiting Kilimanjaro International Airport. We had a wonderful afternnon there and the students were able to see so many aircraft come and go. For many of them this was the very first time to see a Jumbo Jet, or any other kind of areoplane for that matter.