An extremely good plan in Africa

A project to improve Namibia's basic education system was also a great experience for the UK students who went along

Fundraising is something that British schools have had to learn a lot about. After years of constantly struggling to balance their budgets, head teachers have become experts in innovative ways to raise money.

Although UK schools have a reputation for being short of cash, a group of 2,500 schools have done more than simply raise funds for new computers or a minibus for themselves – they are helping to build an entire school system in one of the poorest countries in Africa.

But the project is not just about charity – it is also giving British sixth formers a once-in-a-lifetime experience which they say they will never forget (see the expedition diary, right).

The schools' head teachers are all members of the Secondary Heads Association (SHA), which since 1993 has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for schools in Namibia, a vast desert republic on the south-west coast of Africa.

Although Namibia is more than three times the size of the UK, nearly all of it is empty land. It has a population of just 1.6 million – less than a third of that of London – making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.

The Namibian landscape is spectacular, but the desert, mountains, and canyons which are now attracting adventurous tourists make a formidable homeland.

Its education system is extremely basic, and is still recovering from the legacy of South African rule. Until independence in 1990, Namibia's education system was shaped by Apartheid. Education was segregated and was neither compulsory nor accessible for the black population.

Even today, pupils often have little or no books, equipment or recreational facilities. In rural communities, many children have to get up at 5am to walk three hours from their homestead to get to school.

Richard Fawcett, the association's immediate past president, vividly remembers his first visit to Namibia. "I was standing outside a school in the northern Namibian province of Ondangwa East," he said. "Pupils were queuing in temperatures approaching 40C for their midday porridge. It was made with millet and salty water. No fresh water was available.

"I was bowled over by the heat, the poverty, the beauty of the country, but above all, by the enthusiasm for learning among the young people. They did not have material possessions but they had enthusiasm for education, for school and for learning such as I had never seen before."

The project also gives British students a unique experience – the chance to work alongside their Namibian peers as well as the chance to get their hands dirty, because they have to do much of the construction work themselves.

This summer, 60 sixth formers spent a month in Namibia visiting schools to design future projects and started work building basketball courts, renovating sports pitches and painting educational murals in schools.

But it's not all work for the British students on the trips, organised by World Challenge Expeditions. After a week of hard work, the groups enjoy a three-week expedition into the desert to experience Namibia's extremes first hand.

The SHA Namibia project was the brainchild of Malcolm Hewitt, the association's president in 1993, who wanted SHA schools to help promote education in the developing world. In 1993, SHA schools raised £125,000 to build 10 two-room primary schools in the north of the country.

Namibian students have been involved right from the design stage of the project to ensure that the initiative delivers the facilities that the country really needs.

Monica Nashandi, the High Commissioner for Namibia in London, said: "It is heartening and exciting to see young people taking great interest in our young and beautiful country. This, to me, is a great effort aimed at breaking cultural barriers and prejudices which our generation still has to overcome. The SHA's contribution to the project aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of our young people and thereby making them useful citizens is highly appreciated."

In the future they hope to continue the project by building libraries, a major leisure centre and adventure playgrounds. Students going on expedition to Namibia must raise £2,100 to cover the cost of their trip so that the funds raised by the SHA are used only for building work.

Mr Fawcett said: "This is a truly unique and wonderful opportunity. Our students don't simply experience the challenge of living in another country, they work alongside their Namibian peers to create a brighter future. There can be no better way to promote international understanding or to enrich young lives. It is a privilege to be a part of it."