AN INTERNATIONAL children’s charity based in the North-East will roll out a sustainable school building project in Africa following a successful pilot project in Tanzania, it was announced tonight (Tuesday, July 15).

Comrades of Children Overseas (Coco) unveiled the Schools for Life at Newcastle Business School, with charity co-founder Steve Cram introducing the initiative to a room full of existing and potential supporters, representing businesses from across the region.

The world champion athlete and BBC commentator said: “Wherever Coco operates, we listen to the needs of the communities we work with, learn from them and then ensure that our projects are sustainable.

“The success of Hoja Secondary School (in Tanzania) proves that Coco’s approach to its projects in Africa really works.

“This fantastic school has been carefully nurtured and it no longer needs our direct support.

“This is a wonderful testament to the commitment of everyone involved and demonstrates very clearly that the self-sustainable objectives that we set are achievable.”

He added: “Each Schools for Life school will provide children with some of the opportunities that we take for granted, but which are all too rare in their communities.

“In essence, we will be creating successful social enterprises, which will exist to bring long-term benefits to the young people of the locations in which they are based.

“Of course, to be able to do that, we need to make the initial investments, which is why we have launched this campaign to raise the profile of the project and encourage businesses to offer their support.”

Coco was co-founded Mr Cram and former British Army Major Jim Panton in 2000.

The charity works with communities in remote regions of the developing world to alleviate the poverty that prevents children’s education.

Since its foundation, Coco has raised over £3 million and is working with project partners in Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana.

In 2008, Coco set up Hoja Secondary School in Tanzania, which has gone on to achieve great success, including attaining the best exam results out of 173 schools in the region. Earlier this year, the school became self-sustainable.

During the launch, Coco premiered a special animated short film about Schools for Life, created by Newcastle online video production company Three Motion Media.

The Coco team plans to open up a dialogue with various businesses in the region, and further afield, to explore ways in which they can play an active role in Schools for Life.

For more information visit www.coco.org.uk, find the charity on Facebook or follow @COCO_Charity on Twitter.