SIXTEEN senior pupils from Lomond School in Helensburgh have returned home after spending a challenging – and enlightening – 15 days in Tanzania.

The trip took place after two years of intensive planning and fund-raising and saw the pupils spend 10 days helping to build a new classroom at a local school.

The first 10 days of the trip were focused on voluntary work with pupils assisting with the building of a third classroom at Ngaroni Primary School in the village of Mbahe.

The school has been in progress since 2014 and is entirely dependent on charitable support. In their 10 days working on the site, the group from Lomond managed to dig and fill the foundations and had begun to raise the walls exceeding the target they had been set, which means the new classroom will be opening as planned in January 2019.

In addition to working on site, the pupils were also responsible for running a 10 day summer camp for local children; these children would ordinarily never get holidays in the way pupils in the UK do, as when they are not in school, they work in the fields undertaking physical labour to help their families to survive.

The stay in Mbahe and being able to observe farming practices and visit nearby markets, helped pupils to understand the daily lives of the local community in more depth and provided a stark comparison to the many conveniences they take for granted back home.

Lomond School's principal Johanna Urquhart said: “Our Tanzania trip links closely to our key guiding principles of service, internationalism and adventure and delivered an invaluable learning experience outside the classroom.

"We are extremely proud of how well our pupils adapted to each challenge they were faced with and I am certain that the school’s commitment to learning outside the classroom, whether it be via Duke of Edinburgh; Outward Bound; or even curricular sailing, has prepared them well for this experience.”

A visit to several local children’s homes was a particularly thought-provoking experience; seeing how little families had to live on, their lack of modern conveniences such as electric cookers or washing machines and how dependent they were on their small patches of crops and few animals to feed themselves.

The group were happy at the end of their stay to be able to present packages of clothes and stationery which had been generously donated by the Lomond School PTA, family and friends.

Following the volunteering part of their trip, the group’s attention turned to begin the second phase of their challenge, an ascent of Mount Meru, Africa’s fifth highest peak.

They successfully summited the peak, with the last part of the ascent completed by torchlight in order to reach the summit at dawn.

Teacher Dr Michelle Cotter-Macdonald, who led the trip along with Mr Neil Mackay, said: “Tanzania has changed us all in some way - pushing us out of our comfort zone, broadening our understanding of other cultures and environments, teaching us that we could rely on one another for support and friendship and to be grateful for the things we take for granted like food, clean water, a comfortable bed and our families.

"Some pupils commented on how happy the Tanzanian children had been with a simple game of football or a skipping rope made from a washing line; how much unnecessary stuff we own; how we can live without our phones and how we can do far more than we think we can when we put our minds to it."