ZETU AFRICA
SEATPACK
TURNING SCHOOL BAGS INTO MOBILE CLASSROOM FURNITURE
Location: Uganda
Developer: Arnold Mugagga / Zetu Africa
Support Secured: $71,000
Needed: $200,000
Website: https://www.zetuafrica.org and www.madewithhumans.com/
An African company turning School Bags into Mobile Classroom Furniture to solve the lack of affordable, classroom furniture by providing a SeatPack: A school bag that turns into a mobile bamboo-classroom-chair with a portable writing surface to enable Primary School Children read and write in more dignified conditions indoors and outdoors, while social distancing for safety against covid19 spread.
The Challenge
In 2016 Zetu Africa came across a number, 95 Million Children. This is how many children study without classroom furniture to aid proper reading and writing (95 Million Children in Africa alone including over 3-Million Ugandan primary school children). (UBoS 2018, Tutudesk, 2017).
Primary schools with furniture averagely sit 77 children per classroom. This means 4 to 6 children per 1.2meter desk. Making writing and spacing children 1.5meters apart in the classroom to control covid-19. 79% of Uganda’s primary students are rural dwellers (UBoS, 2018) with an 18% rural-electrification rate. They miss out on online or television based learning.
To resume school, safety standards like in-class distancing while learning must be done, but single-sitting lockers cost up to USD110 per unit (too expensive).
The Solution
We are solving the lack of affordable classroom furniture by providing a SeatPack: A school bag that turns into a mobile bamboo-classroom chair with a writing surface to help Primary School Children read and write in more dignified conditions indoors and outdoors, while social distancing for safety against covid19.
This way, we can improve access to basic education by creating sustainably furnished Mobile-Classrooms for Rural Primary School Children in Uganda (and Sub Saharan Africa). Our learnings are open for application in various locations across the continent.
The Impact
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WORK TO DATE INCLUDE:
Built and tested 9-Iterations of the SeatPack locally with user feedback.
Beta tested the SeatPack with a Suburban school in Uganda for classroom dynamics feedback.
Launched our 10,000 Children Furnished campaign, currently raising for 9,000units funding.
Fully set-up local production facility for the SeatPacks.
Income creation along our SeatPack value chain for 64 locals in Uganda.
Next Stage:
Our Current Goal: To Increase the number of rural Primary School Children in Sub-Saharan Africa accessing furnished classrooms by availing Mobile-Classroom Furniture to 10,000 School Children by 2022.
Our Current Approach is two-tiered:
Subsidize 9,000 SeatPack units for 9,000 Primary School children through strategic partner funding by 2022.
Locally manufacture SeatPacks (sustainable, Mobile-Classroom furniture) for 10,000 rural primary school children by the year 2022.
Deliver 10,000 subsidized SeatPacks to 10,000 rural primary school children in Sub-Saharan Africa by the year 2022.