A book titled Know my Language - Tseba leleme la ka - Tunne kieleni, has been written jointly by learners from the Arethabeng Primary School in Soshanguve,SA and Mikkola School in Vantaa, Finland in 2007.

The book is a collection of learners' stories and descriptions of their everyday lives - the things they like, what they do at home, their routines, families and games. The book has translations to and from Finnish, Sesotho and English of the children's writings.

The book has been edited by teachers from Arethabeng and Mikkola schools, who have created a ‘friendship school' between them of small scale projects that have become progressively more ambitious.

These started with exchanges of letters from learners, exchanges of music and curricula, and visits by teachers from both countries.

The presentation of the book will be made by six teachers from Mikkola who have come to Soshanguve to further develop the friendship ties between the two schools. The aim is that they will eventually be able to run exchanges among learners.

"It's important that children in Finland get to know about life in South Africa and the changes taking place here directly through their own interaction with those at Arethabeng," says Helena Korpela from Mikkola school, one of the pioneers of the project.

"Having Mikkola as a friendship school has been a great ting for our teachers and learners," says Mmapula Sekhu, Principal of Arethabeng. "They have learnt about life in a country they would otherwise have hardly heard of. Many school twinning projects come to nothing. But ours has taken off. We've become a family."

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