Blog
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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.