Blog
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Introducing Chris Thompson: Vodafone World of Difference winner.
Chris Thompson is one of our Vodafone World of Difference placement winners. Meet him below and see what he will be getting up to over the next two-months.
Chris enjoying the slopes ahead of a busy period of fundraising.
Who are you?
I have been a student for a few years. I was recently awarded a Ph.D. in Parkinson’s disease research at Cambridge University. Before embarking on a career path, I thought I should give something back. I heard about LearnAsOne and was fortunate enough to win a Vodafone World of Difference UK placement.
In my spare time, I can be found kayaking, paragliding, SCUBA diving, surfing and snowboarding. I’m a big fan of real ale too.
What will you be doing for LearnAsOne?
I am responsible for the management and coordination of WalkAsOne Volunteers, who will be organising 14km sponsored walks to raise money for classrooms, schools and teachers’ houses in Zambia. My job is to make sure all preparations are in place and then recruit and guide WalkAsOne Volunteers through the process of organising walks and deal with any problems that might arise.
Why are you helping with WalkAsOne?
I was intrigued by Saviour’s story. I thought that if I could do something to help, then I should. The money raised will go a very long way to making a tangible difference to people’s lives.
Have you ever done anything like this before?
I have organised events involving hundreds of people before and have some experience of project management. I have also worked with charities but I’ve never put all of these things together so I’m really looking forward to the challenge.
If someone wants to organise a walk what should they do?
Everything is now in place to make organising a walk and raising money really easy. We are currently recruiting WalkAsOne Volunteers. My job is to make it as simple as possible and provide all the support as you need to enable you to run a successful WalkAsOne event. If you’re ready to get involved or if you just want more information then get in touch at chris@learnasone.org
Can you share an interesting fact about yourself?
Many years ago, I was asked to be an extra in a “war film”. It was a 30 mile drive, I was pretty busy and I had no acting aspirations, so I didn’t bother. The “war film” turned out to be Saving Private Ryan. I would have made much more of an effort if I had known.
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End of year catch-up with Simakakata (including a brilliant surprise!)
Yesterday Volunteer Adam caught up with Headmaster George on the phone. Here’s your update on what’s being going on at Simakakata recently and how your money is being put to use.
Work has already begun at Simakatata. Here you can see Headmaster George being interviewed on a Flip camera. We hope this will be available to share in early 2010.
“Merry Christmas from Zambia,” says George, the headmaster of Simakakata Community School, “And we wish you all the best for a prosperous 2010!”
His pupils and staff are off enjoying the Christmas holidays, but George has been cycling into work every day this week. He’d rather be spending time with his family, but there’s a lot to do.
The last few weeks have been eventful for the children of Simakakata. It started with good news: as well as receiving the funding for a new classroom thanks to your efforts in 2009, the school has also been awarded a grant by leading international aid agency CARE International to fully fund an entire classroom block. In total, money for four new classrooms began to arrive at the beginning of December, and George hasn’t waited to put it to work.
Meeting up with a CARE International representative in May 2009. At that point they didn't think they would have any spare funds to help Simakakata this year.
“We’re already up to window level on the first building,” he laughs, “We’re going very quickly, and the community is doing the vast majority of the building work. We’re hoping that we’ll have this first building completed by the end of January.”
No time to waste
Although George has the money and materials at his disposal to start work on the new school building, he doesn’t have the luxury of time. Right now the 230 children enrolled at Simkakata are taught in an old farmhouse, which has no lighting, no water and, for the most part, no windows either. It’s a hugely inappropriate building, but they may not even have that for much longer.
“The lease on our current building runs out in January,” explains George, “If the children are moved out of that building they’ll have nowhere to learn from. We’re very worried and trying to organise things. We hope to work fast, but we’re asking for a grace period of three months or so, so that we can get the roof on and complete the building.”
As a result, says George, he’s decided the priority is to press on with building the second classroom block before work starts on any teachers’ housing.
“The first block can accommodate five classes teaching on a shift rota,” he explains, “But we still need two more classrooms if we are to accommodate the whole school properly.”
A new borehole
There is more good news, though. Thanks to the commitment shown by George, his staff and the community of Simakakata, the local council has agreed to fund a borehole at the new school site so that the pupils can finally have access to clean water.
“The borehole has been drilled by the council, but they haven’t fixed a pump yet,” says George, “So we’re still without water. The pipes are in the ground, but they’re not working yet. But we hope they soon will be.”
And what of our star pupil, ten-year-old orphan Saviour? She walks 14km a day without food or water to get to school, hoping that her education will be her escape from poverty.
Saviour is performing well at school. Notice the lack of windows in her current classroom.
“She’s is doing very well,” George tells us, “In fact, her results are much better than last year. In her last exams she came top of the class!”
The next few months will see Simakakata Community School transformed beyond recognition from the dark, dilapidated stop gap we visited in May. With new buildings and a borehole, it will be much better equipped to give Savour and her friends the education that they deserve. There’s still more to do before its future is assured.
Help us to raise money for the fifth classroom and the vital 5 teachers’ houses by making a donation today.
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Nerys and Chris both win 2-month work placements with LearnAsOne!
Nerys and Chris: Our two Vodafone World of Difference winners.
A few months ago I wrote a post about the Vodafone World of Difference scheme. They were offering 500 people the opportunity to undertake 2-month work placements with a charity of their choice.
Last Tuesday I received 2 emails from Vodafone telling me that 2 people had been accepted onto the scheme to work for LearnAsOne. I’ve been sworn to secrecy ever since. But Vodafone have now had their press day and I’m allowed to share the great news with you all.
So without further ado I can reveal that our two winners are Nerys Evans and Chris Thompson.
You may remember Nerys from our Zambia trip in May. She shot 9 hours of video as a self-funded volunteer. This grant gives her the chance to edit the video and share stories from the Simakakata community.
Chris will help to kick-start our 2010 WalkAsOne fundraising campaign. He’ll work closely with schools, universities, and walking groups to help them organise 14km sponsored walks which replicate Saviour’s daily journey to school. The current school is a borrowed farmhouse which the owner needs back.
Massive thanks go to Vodafone for making this possible. I can’t wait to start sharing Nerys’ video with you and see you all walking in 2010!
If you would like to organise a walk in your community please send an email to walk@learnasone.org. Thank you!
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“Thank you very much. We appreciate your hard work.”
The text I received from Headmaster George earlier today.
A few hours ago my phone buzzed. It was a text message from George, the Headmaster at Simakakata Community School.
“Thank you very much. We appliciate your hard work.”
Given today’s general levels of excitement at LearnAsOne and in Southern Zambia I’m sure we can all forgive his spelling. Mine is often equally as bad!
Let me rewind 24 hours
Yesterday I received a cheque from Shaun Connell following his Sky dive in late September. This brought us to within £170.24 of the fundraising target for the first classroom. I posted messages on twitter and Facebook to this effect and our supporters took over. Within 24 hours the target had been reached!
I’d like to thank Claire, Adam, Simon, Nina, Gloria, Rachel, Cathryn, Maurice, Zac, Scuff and Laura for their donations which nudged the totaliser over the target. And of course to all the rest of you who have donated your time, skills and money to make this all possible.
So what happens next?
As soon as your doantions reach us from Just Giving (7-10 days) we’ll transfer the money for the first classroom to our partner Response Network in Zambia.
In the meantime they will finalise the costs of the raw materials such as cement, doors, windows and roofing sheets. And a document of understanding will be drawn up with the community at Simakakata giving them 6 months to build the classroom once the raw materials are delivered.
We’ll also work out the best way to keep you updated during the build and, after a little celebration tonight, continue fundraising for the remaining classrooms, teacher’s houses and water that the community needs.
A message from the kids
To sign off this post I’ll hand you over to the children of Simakakata.
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£15.24 away from the first classroom!
Hole in the wall: The learning conditions in the current school are far from ideal.
I have good news. Thanks to your efforts the first classroom at Simakakata is now just £170.24 £15.24 away fully funded!
Thanks to the recent efforts of 13 students and a dog at the very first WalkAsOne, Nina Preece and her eBay exploits, the sky diving Shaun Connell, the Chearsley WI cake sale team, New Era and many others the £5,200 target is now within touching distance.
Edit: Thanks to Claire, Adam, Simon, Nina, Gloria, Rachel, Cathryn, Maurice, Zac, Scuff and Laura for their donations since I shared this post on twitter and Facebook.
Below you can see the site for the new classroom. A previous donor laid the foundations and the community have made all the bricks you see by hand.
This is where the first classroom will be built.
The money raised will pay for all the other raw materials needed to build a classroom. Timber, roofing sheets, doors, glass for windows, more cement. All things the community cannot afford themselves.
The community at Simakakata have agreed to contribute by donating both skilled and unskilled labour for free. They are ready to get started as soon as the final £170.24 has been raised the funds have been transferred to our partner in Zambia and the raw materials have been purchased. We’ll provide updates throughout the build on this blog so you can see your money action.
If you would like to make a donation you can do so via this link. Thank you.
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Simakakata Community School in 10 photos
Over the past week I’ve uploaded 10 of our favourite photos from Simakakata onto twitter. They tell the current story at the school and explain why permanent classrooms are so important to the community.
Here they are in one batch, plus a bonus photo for you all!
Photographs by our brilliant volunteer Brenda Veldtman.
The Simakakata community borrowed an old farmhouse to get the school up and running. Now the owner wants it back.
At the current school doors are seen as something of a luxury.
Desks are lacking.
But the kids are incredibly happy to have the opportunity to attend school.
They have ambition.
Love to have fun.
And are naturals in front of the camera!
The community have built 20,000 bricks by hand. There are willing to contribute skilled and unskilled labour for free. And another donor even laid some foundations for the first classroom. Then the money ran out.
The government will provide training teachers for free if teacher's houses can be funded. The school currently has one room which two volunteer teachers call home.
And one bonus shot…
A new school would give over 200 children the chance of a better future.
We now need less than £1,000 to get the first classroom off the ground. If you would like to make a donation please click here. Thank you!
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PartyAsOne: New York. Dance for Saviour
Earlier this year Shaun Connell contacted me and offered to throw himself out of a plane for LearnAsOne. Mission recently accomplished Shaun has now set his sights on organising a fundrasing party in New York on 24th October. I’m in awe of volunteers like Shaun. Here’s his story.
Volunteer Shaun
Hi. I’m Shaun. I volunteer because opening access to education is close to my heart. I volunteer because it would be wrong not to. Too many children are subjected to poverty because they do not receive the education and training they need to succeed.
I am really impressed with LearnAsOne and their holistic approach to changing the fortunes of children like Saviour. LearnAsOne is an investment in the future of business and community leaders, teachers, charity workers and medics in the Simakakta community, Zambia and beyond. It’s great that the LearnAsOne investment is fuelled by the continued support of everyday people like you and me.
Live For Today... Plan For Tomorrow... PartyAsOne!
Conversations with Steve inspired me and three friends to setup a not-for-profit company (YAHYAHYAY) and host PartyAsOne in New York on 24th October. PartyAsOne is your chance to party carnival style while raising funds for LearnAsOne. Three of New York’s hottest calypso, soca and reggae DJ’s will help you to dance the evening away onboard the Paddlewheel Queen. Feel free to shake your leg and enjoy the delights of a free buffet supplied by some of the hottest party caterers in New York.
Help make PartyAsOne be a night to remember. Plan to be there. Tickets are available at www.yahyahyay.org.
Tickets reduced to $40 this week only. Get yours now!
Shaun doesn’t just organised parties
I don’t know what scares me more, heights or the effects of no education so I decided to tackle both my completing a 12,800 foot skydive. So far I have raised £615.
My sense of achievement is immense. One second I was perched on the edge of a plane enjoying an amazing view of the sky, the next I was hurtling towards the ground at 130mph. 5 minutes later I was back on the ground celebrating with family and friends. I would like to thank Keith - my jump instructor - and every one who sponsored my jump. We did it together.
If you are based in New York join Shaun on Saturday 24 October and PartyAsOne. Get your tickets at www.yahyahyay.org. And if you’d like to organise your own party please get in touch.
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Would you like a PAID 2-month (UK based) placement with LearnAsOne?
Vodafone gives you the chance to make a World of Difference
Edit: Applications have now closed and we are very pleased to announce that Nerys Evans and Chris Thompson have been selected to work with us in January and February. Thank you Vodafone!
If you would like to get involved there are plenty of volunteering opportunities available that may be of interest to you.
Have you ever dreamed of making a real difference? Well thanks to the Vodafone World of Difference scheme you may soon be able to. They are offering 500 people the opportunity to undertake 2-month paid placements with a UK charity of their choice.
The only restriction is that the placement must be based in the UK. World of Difference are willing to pay the successful applicants £2,500 for the placement after National Insurance and employers’ tax liabilities have been deducted.
At LearnAsOne there are 3 areas where we are currently looking for help. Please email jobs@learnasone if you are interested in applying for any of the roles. [Start dates in brackets]
1. WalkAsOne event co-ordinator
When we visited Zambia in May we met Saviour, a 10-year-old-orphan who has to walk 14km every day so she can attend school. She is perfectly happy to do this but there is one major problem. Her current school is an old farmhouse and the owner wants it back. The community desperately needs a new school.We have a simple solution. WalkAsOne. A 14km sponsored walk to raise money for the new school. But why stop at one walk? We are looking for a co-ordinator who can encourage schools and universities across the world to organise their own walks in Spring 2010. And in doing so raise huge amounts of money for schools in Zambia.
The role would cover everything from approaching universities and asking them to host walks through to assisting them with marketing, PR and risk assessments.
[Jan 2010]
2. Web developer
We are currently developing our website so that every school gets it’s own web page so donors can choose which project they want to fund. The project is volunteer led and approximately 60% finished. These screenshots should give you an idea of what we have in mind.We are looking for developers skilled in PHP, MySQL, Smarty and Wordpress. Experience with Paypal would also be an advantage.
[Jan or Apr 2010]
3. Social media PR
Our next trip to Zambia will be in either March or May. We are looking for help to spread our stories, photos and videos through both social media and main stream PR. Your task will be to significantly raise the profile of LearnAsOne around the idea of donors seeing exactly where their money goes.[Jan or Apr 2010]
There is no limit to the amount of people who can be placed at a single charity so if you have other skills that you would like to use then please get in touch too.
When does the placement take place?
There are two start dates. Either either 11 Jan 2010 or 12 April 2010.
How do I apply?
1) Read more about the scheme.
2) Email jobs@learnasone with a subject line of World of Difference and tell us how you would like to get involved. Please attached a copy of your CV too.Edit: Applications are now closed for 2010. Thanks to everyone who applied.
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The sporting stars of Simakakata
Brighton is one of the best footballers at Simakakata.
School isn’t just about learning and lessons. Thanks to volunteer teacher Edwin Kufekisa, who teaches grade 5 during the day, Simakakata also has sports lessons, as well as a football and netball team.
Seventeen-year-old Brighton, from grade 7, is one of the stars of the soccer side.
“I play as a striker, and I’m the best in the school,” he says. “Sometimes we play against the other schools in Kalomo area, but we don’t often win.”
If ever there was a place that taking part was more important than winning or losing, though, this is it. With no public transport and several hours walk to the nearest school for pupils who’ve already trekked through the bush to get to class, away games are a rare treat which are savoured regardless of the score.
His friend, Earnest, also plays in the side. He’s been coming to Simakakata for six years, since he was 11 years old. He has two sisters and a brother who are also enrolled here.
“I prefer sport to my lessons,” he says, “But I do enjoy English. It’s very important to learn English here, there’s better work and more money for people who speak English.”
The football team practice in a large field behind the school, with goalposts made from tree branches. While the team trains, other pupils sing and dance or take part in races.
Closer to the school grounds there’s a bare patch of grass with a pole and hoop for netball classes.
Volunteer teacher Loveness teaches the girls how to play netball.
Mulemwa lives nearer to school than most, but has to help her grandmother after hours, which leaves little time to practice. She’s 11-years-old and studies in grade 5, where her favourite lesson is maths.
“I’m very good at netball, and really enjoy it,” she says, “I have five sisters, and I’m better than all of them.”
School isn’t just about classes - it’s a place for the children to mix and play and develop social skills as well as the academic basics that will help them in later life. We still need to raise £1,248 to fund the first classroom at Simakakata to help guarantee the future of the school. Please donate now or help to organise your very own WalkAsOne.
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Blogging from the bush - LearnAsOne featured in .net magazine
Great news. Volunteer Adam has written a two page feature on the Zambia trip which features in the current issue of .net magazine (available at all good newsagents).
It focuses on the shocking fact that the internet is more accessible than clean water in many parts of Zambia and how this enabled us to provide live updates from the school at Simakakata.
The article isn’t currently available online but we’ll post a link to a pdf as soon as we have one.