The camera often struggles to show how dark it really is inside the classrooms at Simakakata. This shot was taken on a day when there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

Meet Shabby and his children Holiness and Universe Wakinji.

There is a community of 10 disabled families who live in Simakakata. The school is their lifeline.

Learn more through the story of Shabby Aongola, an active member of the community and a key part of the Parent Teacher Association at the school.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

In the farmhouse, any seat is a good seat. But with just one more classroom needed, photos like this will soon be a thing of the past.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

Dan Baskerville and Mark Newell (Unknown State) busking to raise funds for Simakakata Community School. Lucy Newell also played a set before the cameras arrived. They raised £130.07! :-)

Massive thanks go to Dan and Mark (Unknown State), plus Lucy for donating their time to busk. You can find out more about Unknown State on their website and on MySpace.

If you would like to do a spot of busking in your local town it’s incredibly easy to organise. Just email busk@learnasone.org and we’ll help you set things up.

If you don't have enough desks, sometimes you've just got to improvise.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

We want to help the school children of Simakakata do more than just read and write. We want to help them to achieve their dreams.

Last week I was on holiday in sunny Dorset so I apologise for not posting a ‘Photo of the Week’. I’ll post two this week to make up for it.

The child in the photo above is called Sonet. Click here to learn about the dreams of her classmates.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

When we arrived at Simakakata the community had already made over 60,000 bricks by hand. They are also happy to donate their labour for free to build the school. All they need is money to buy building materials such as cement, roofing sheets and windows.

Learn more about the community contribution and how they make the bricks they need to construct the school.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

Sports and education go hand in hand.

The connection between football and the power of education to pull communities out of poverty may seem frivolous, but it’s at the heart of an important conference being held in South Africa today to tie-in with the last week of the World Cup.

The 1Goal campaign, co-ordinated by Global Campaign for Education, has been running all year with the specific aim of using the World Cup to raise awareness about the importance of education. Supporters include Mick Jagger, Bono, Clive Owen and just about every footballer on the planet, including Gary Lineker, Pele, Thierry Henry and more.

The objective of 1Goal is simple. It’s not a fundraising campaign, rather it’s just about getting the message across to world leaders about where to spend their money. If you want to get people out of poverty, give them an education. It’s the single most effective way of increasing wages, reducing maternal and infant mortality, improving agriculture and trade and giving people the chance to stand on their own two feet and not rely on food handouts for the rest of their lives.

The playing field at Simakakata.

It works both ways, too.  Football isn’t just a tool for raising the profile of education, sports are a key part of the curriculum at Simakakata Community School in Zambia.

“Children who don’t perform well in class may be much better at sports,” says Edwin, the PE teacher, “It’s a great way of motivating them and increasing their confidence.”

Sports classes take place on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in a field behind the school, and although they only have a few balls to play with and no kit, Edwin tries to organise football matches against other schools as often as he can.

“It’s very important for the children to be exposed to other communities through sport,” he says, “And when we don’t win, it teaches them to try harder and work together as a team to improve themselves.”

As well as keeping the children fit, Edwin explains, sports provides an outlet for later in life. As in most impoverished areas, alcoholism and drug abuse aren’t uncommon in rural Zambia.

It's not just about football, either.

Last week the children of Simakakata took part in a regional competition against 14 other schools from the Kalomo area. Headmaster George says that a farmer from his home in Good Hope lent them a truck to make the journey.

“We didn’t win anything,” he laughs, “But taking part was very exciting for the children. It gave us something to reflect upon in class.”

Our NGO partner in Zambia, Response Network, values sport as one of the most important methods of community cohesion.

“’Let`s start our own sports club’ was one of the first manuals we wrote,” says country director Håkon Spigseth, “We encourage communities to start sport clubs as it is both healthy and participants learn organisational skills. It’s also fun and for youth, a good alternative to drinking and more negative social hobbies.”

We’re currently raising funds for the final classroom block at Simakakata school, to help secure its future and make sure the children of the community have every opportunity possible. Giving a child an education is the single most important thing you can do to help. LearnAsOne is a unique charity that creates a transparent link between donors and those who need help. You can donate to LearnAsOne or get involved and help us fundraise through this site, and we’ll show you where every penny is spent.

While the new school is built, lessons continue inside the borrowed farmhouse.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.

"I want to teach the children so that in the future they can be like me, and do something different. Something that will help communities like Simakakata." Sonia Haloba Shanegubo.

Learn more about Sonia and her motivation for teaching at Simakakata.

Image by Brenda Veldtman.