At Emmaus, we are delighted that our school is now twinned with Ecole Xarito in Dakar, Senegal.

The word 'xarito' means 'love'.

French Pupil Council sent their first letter to our new-found friends in November 2016 and we are very happy to have received our first letter back in January 2017.

In our letter, we described what our school was like. We told them about the subjects we learn and the extra curricular activities that we are able to participate in. We also told them about our city – Liverpool. We took lots of photos of our school and included postcards of Liverpool too.

The official language of Senegal is French - so Miss Dickinson has translated the letter into English for us.

The children open their letter by saying that we are their dear friends and that they are very proud to be twinned with us. They tell us that Senegal is a country situated on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. There are about 14 million people living there. Senegal is a country with lots of farms and industry.

Ecole Xarito was created in the year 2000 – so 17 years ago. It was set up to give underprivileged children a chance to go to school.

In Ecole Xaritio, there are 354 children aged between 4 and 14. There are 169 girls and 185 boys. The school year starts in October and finishes in July. Their summer holidays last 2 and a half months! All of the children walk to school because they live nearby. School starts at 8 in the morning and lessons stop at 12pm for lunch. Children all go home for lunch and then return at 3 o’clock for more classes until 5pm.

At school, the children study French, Maths, History, Geography, Science, Art and Poetry. They go on day trips – to visit factories, the zoo or the beach. Each class at Ecole Xarito has its own football team. They also have two teams that represent their school and play against other schools. One team is for girls and the other is for boys.

The children finish their letter by saying that they hope that we reply soon!

Each class at Emmaus will be given the opportunity to write to a class at Ecole Xarito.  We are really looking forward to replying to our friends in Africa!