LearnAsOne

In just over 12 hours I’ll be boarding a KLM flight from Heathrow and starting my journey to Zambia. I arrive into Livingstone on Monday afternoon after an overnight stop in Johannesburg.

On 10 May I’ll be joined by volunteers Brenda (photographer), Adam (journalist) and Nerys (TV producer). Over the next week the team will introduce themselves so you get to know a little about us and what we’ll be doing in Zambia. It starts with me…

Name:

Steve Heyes

Occupation:

Founder of LearnAsOne.

Who are you?

I’m the founder and only staff member of LearnAsOne. I gave up my job to start LearnAsOne and can’t wait to get over to Zambia and get started.

What will you be doing in Zambia?

From 4-8 May I’ll be meeting various NGOs who specialise in education projects and finalising which one we are going to work with. There is only so much you can do over email and Skype! Then from 11-22 May I’ll be documenting from our first community school project with our amazing team of self-funded volunteers.

Why did you set-up LearnAsOne?

For two reasons. I believe that the only way a community can effectively tackle poverty is if they learn the skills to do so themselves. And secondly, if someone is generous enough to give to charity they deserve to see exactly how their money is spent and meet the people whose lives they are changing.

Have you ever done anything like this before?

Sort of. I went to Ethiopia for 3 weeks with Ethiopiaid in 2004. But all of our partners and projects were already in place. This time we start from scratch.

Any big concerns about the trip?

Lots. I had the idea for LearnAsOne about 2 years ago and this is when everything becomes real. Will anyone follow the story? Will we actually be able to upload stuff? Will anyone donate?

What luxury item are you going to pack?

My ipod. I can’t live without music.

What will you miss most?

Given that we are aiming to upload stories every day a fast and reliable Internet connection. How geeky is that? Oh, and my friends and family too!

If you want to ask me any questions then please leave a comment below.