The 1Goal: Education For All campaign is using the World Cup to make as many people as possible aware that 75 million children in the world do not go to school. Most of these children live in Africa.
1Goal is hoping the World Cup will unite the world in fighting the injustice of people not getting a chance to be educated. They want millions of people around the world to sign their name, along with the world leaders who got the ball rolling yesterday.
Zuma, joined by other world leaders via video link, signed his name onto a board at the Ellis Park Stadium along with soccer stars Mark Fish, Doctor Khumalo and Matthew Booth.
Dignitaries from around the world said their focus would be on South Africa, and they hoped that, through soccer, they would be able to change children's lives for the better.
"South Africa is honoured to join world leaders in support of this campaign," Zuma said. "Education is critical to the well-being and development of humanity ... South Africa is committed to do whatever is necessary to ensure all our children get a quality education."
Nine-year-old Gugu Ngubane, from Yeoville, Joburg, who is a local ambassador for 1Goal, spoke to the world about her dreams of becoming a nurse one day.
"School is fun and I want to make sure that every child in Africa can go to school like me," she said.
Speaking from London, Jordan's Queen Rania said that since 2000 the global campaign for education promised that every child would get an education. Since then, 40 million more children had gone to school, but 75 million still needed an education.
"In 10 years there is a whole generation that have been lost. Millions of children have been lost to poverty and disease. While they wait for us to fulfil our promises, they work in places unfit for children," the queen said. "What is it they are waiting for? For leadership."
The queen said it would cost $11 billion (about R81bn) to get every child into school - the same amount spent on computer games last year.
"We need to show that when we make a promise we mean it. We want every politician to know our goal," Rania said.
Fifa president Seff Blatter, UN Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all pledged their support to 1Goal.
British PRemier Gordon Brown pledged 1 billion Pounds (about R11.7 bn) a year towards the campaign. "I want every country to respond and shine out next year in South Africa to make sure we use the World Cup as an opportunity to transform the lives of all children," he said.
You can sign your name at www.join1goal.org
Angelique Serrao: The Star : October 7 2009