Windhoek — "Pää, olkapää, peppu, polvet, varpaat," sings a classroom full of fifth graders loudly, while touching their head, shoulders, behind, knees and toes. Two Finnish students, Tiina Aura and Mari Pihlajakangas, are teaching the students a song in Finnish at Martti Ahtisaari Primary School in Katutura. Both students and the teachers are having fun at the end of their art lesson.

Martti Ahtisaari Primary School has tight connections to Finland, not only because of the school's name.

"It was a blessing that we became the school of Ahtisaari," the school's headmaster Hermann Bok notes. Aura and Pihlajakangas are the second duo of Finnish teacher students this year to do an internship at Martti Ahtisaari Primary School. There is a lot of student and teacher exchange between the school and Finland.

The Finnish teachers' labour organisation OAJ also donates some money to the school. Also the Finnish Pasila Rotary Club donates a small amount.

"The money comes in need. We buy teaching materials with the donations," says Bok. The school has bought for example computers and other electrical equipment with the donations. Without the donations the school would not meet their teaching material needs, he says.

"Our students come from really poor families. Around 50 or 60 percent of the students' parents did not pay the yearly money to the school's development fund this year," Bok explains. Some of the students drop out of school because they cannot afford the school fees.

Nevertheless, according to Bok, the school has a good reputation. He says that more and more children want to attend the school.

"Even people outside Windhoek are sending their children to attend our school."

The Finnish students Aura and Pihlajakangas had to adapt to a very different school system in Katutura.

"Almost everything is done differently here than back home," they laugh. For example, in Martti Ahtisaari Primary School children have only one break during the day. In Finland students have 10 or 15-minute breaks after each lesson. The lunch takes half an hour but all in all the school day is longer.

The class size is also something different in Namibia.

"Here there are at least 40 students in a classroom. There are usually 25 students in Finnish primary schools," Pihlajakangas notes. "In order to get 40 children to sit still and listen, you really need to raise your voice," Aura said.