Yahya fulfilled his promise to visit a school in Kuhmoinen on April 27, 2022. Erno, a teacher in the same school, who made this arrangement feasible, was overjoyed when Yahya agreed to come to the school. The visit was made because the school, which is located in Finland’s Pirkanmaa region, was celebrating an international week. The pupils and teachers would go to other places. However, because of covid-19 constraints, that goal could not be achieved. As a result, they decided to invite some interesting people with foreign origins to speak to the students and showcase foreigns cultures. Yahya did not only participate and play the kora, but he also made an impression on the kids who sang his traditional songs at the end.
On the particular day, Erno picked Yahya up with his Kora from the Lokonmärki neighborhood of Tampere city at 7:20 a.m. and drove to Kuhmoinen. The program begins at 8:45 a.m. at the school. Yahya began by giving a powerpoint presentation about his home country, The Gambia. The presentation’s key subjects were his country’s geography, basic facts, spoken languages, fun facts, cultural traits, and some parallels and contrasts between his culture and Finnish culture based on his experiences. This presentation was screened to all the classrooms from the teachers’ lounge. A small workshop in African traditional music and performance utilizing the Kora musical instrument, accompanied by singing and storytelling, began at 9 a.m. Yahya and Erno, together with the students, went to a football game after the workshop. Yahya and Erno were on one team, while five other students were on another. Yahya and Erno felt they could easily beat the students, but they were defeated, and the students compelled them to run for several minutes without touching the football.
After the football game, everyone went out to lunch together, and the international week came to a conclusion.
Yahya then participated in language lessons where students had the opportunity to perfect their English before saying farewell and hoping to see him again next year.
