A SPECIAL needs teacher knighted for his community and education work is spearheading a company set up to transform children's futures in Africa.

Sir Paul Hallam, who has helped people with learning, emotional and behavioural difficulties at several West Midlands schools, has founded Further Education For Kenya to raise £750,000 in 12 months to invest in the East African nation.

The retired British Army officer, who moved to Cookley 18 months ago, said he fell in love with Africa after working there training troops to deal with the tropical climate. Sir Paul Hallam who has set up a company to improve education in Kenya.

He initially hopes to improve four schools and build a fifth in the Laikipia district near Mount Kenya

And Sir Paul, who was knighted last August, said he wanted to develop educational and commercial links between the Kenyan district and Kidderminster by encouraging African and English pupils to become pen pals and introducing business associations.

"We're talking about helping education in a Third World developing country, and creating links and exchanges," said Sir Paul, 52, who plans to spend 10 days a month in Kenya from now on.

"The people have got nothing but they don't beg and they're prepared to work. They need the tools, they need to be shown how to do this."

Sir Paul travelled to Kenya in February to see what he could do and ended up taking on four projects.

He has secured 10 computers from a Midlands firm for a girls' school - which will enable e-mail links with Kidderminster counterparts - while he is organising for electricity and water to be installed at a boys' school.

He is planning to donate clothes, books and desks to a school where all the children are suffering from AIDS while he has identified another primary school that desperately needs help.

These dreams will take up to £10,000 to accomplish.

The tireless knight has also met the senior vicar of a gospel church who is hoping to build a school - and his plans do not stop there.

"We've already got a lot of schools starting to come on board," said Sir Paul.

"We need to get a lump sum of money or chunks of money behind us so we can make money with it and invest it.

"We're going to buy a 25 to 30-seat minibus for £8,000 that will carry fee-paying passengers to the capital Nairobi.

"It will be administered and run by the church and it is going to make money."

Sir Paul is also planning to set up two internet cafes and run educational programmes for businessmen.

He is looking to raise money for his company - which he is running with two ex-army colleagues - from the lottery but he also envisages some cash coming from Wyre Forest fund-raisers.