Linda Community School go on The Royal Livingstone Express and link with ZST, four schools and Locomotion Museum in the U.K.

In a fantastic event 80 children and teachers from Linda Community School were taken for a trip on the Royal Livingstone Express last Friday. In October the BBC News had an article explaining that the luxury vintage steam train, which normally takes tourists to see the Victoria Falls, was now empty because of the pandemic but still has to run occasionally for maintenance reasons. We got in touch with Bushtracks Africa, who operate the train, and they very kindly agreed to take some children on their next outing. Better yet, we were able to link them up by video on the day with four schools that have supported our work at Linda Community School. It was great for the kids to exchange greetings with children at Cramlington Village Primary School, Durham School and their junior school Bow, Hesleden Primary School and Stobhillgate First School. Also linked were Locomotion Museum in County Durham who we knew had an engine that used to work on the same line in Zambia! They had originally agreed to host the U.K. end of the event but the latest Coronavirus restrictions prevented that. However, they gave a great talk on their engine and took questions from the children. 23 Zoom links in three countries held up, and we could then watch a live stream as the children in Zambia went on a steam safari. A great day!